An Alternative to the Traveston Crossing Dam - A paper entitled "Traveston Crossing - Dam Solution or White Elephant?"

This proposal provides a viable alternative to building the Traveston Crossing Dam.
The paper is entitled "Traveston Crossing - Dam Solution or White Elephant?"


It is not simply a plan to secure water for our future, as it also fits within a larger framework - for example, this plan;

1. Incorporates the new weather phenomenon findings, published in February 2009, that explain 120 years of drought in Eastern Australia - including SE QLD.

2. Details a more efficient and cost-effective alternative - the distillation plant should have a maximum cost of less than $1.0 Billion - estimated savings of over $500 Million can then be used for other projects.

3. Provides a turn-key solution for guaranteed water - independent of weather, and/or the immediate requirement for another Reverse Osmosis Desalination plant that is close to the coast and subject to threat from sea-level rises - other similar sized plants take about 18 months - maximum.

4. Prevents the loss of fertile farmland - at a time when farming foodbowls elsewhere are under threat from climate issues.

5. Short-circuits all 1,200 conditions and environmental controversies over current Dam proposal - no wasted administration costs to police such conditions.

6. Follows common-sense principles enabling clearly defined outcomes.

7. NO BRINE waste by-product will be pumped back into Moreton Bay - yes, you read that correctly - No waste by-product to create further environmental damage.

The Big Picture element chain incorporates all of the following;
+ Natural Sequence Farming
+ Cogenerative Desalination - Distillation using waste heat from a power station.
+ Reforestation
+ Erosion Control & Prevention
+ Recharge Parched Rivers & Aquifers - east and west of the Great Dividing range
+ Flush the Brisbane River system
+ Reduce Moreton Bay pollution
= A sustainable plan for the future


Traveston Crossing - Dam Solution or White Elephant?

Murray Darling Basin Problems Increase - Bring in the Legal Teams

Court fight looms over river | theage.com.au via kwout

Just when communication, cooperation and cohesion are required to address the Murray-Darling Basin [MDB] crisis, we see effort, costs and focus elsewhere.

SA Needs Help - VIC Could Help With Portland Desalination

South Australia calls for help with water crisis from the other States:

SA alone can't save lower Murray, Coorong: minister - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) via kwout

The Portland Desalination proposal not only offers a water solution to benefit South Australians and Victorians. This idea can also be duplicated within South Australia to produce even more water:

• As suggested to management staff at the Port Pirie lead smelter
  
• As suggested to the management team at Whyalla steelworks

Look Out -- La Nina Event Over

Anyone hoping for a 'natural fix' for our continuing Foodbowl drought crisis - Murray-Darling Basin - should review the latest Bureau of Meteorology ENSO report.

The Murray Darling Basin Commission [MDBC] Drought Update of May 2008 [PDF] is also of interest - the are no references for gaining 'new' water sources to boost river inflows.

ABC Landline - Sunday 4th May, 2008

Interesting segment Rice Shortage Critical, by Tim Lee from the ABC - focussing on the Murray-Darling Water Crisis.

One part dealt with the rice growing regions and their lack of sufficient water -- claims that Australian Rice Producers are among the most efficient and productive in the world. This fact linked in with the story about food riots in 10 countries in the past 2 months, where rice staple food prices had risen by 70%. This years crop will be only 20,000 tons - down from several Hundred Thousands as per non-drought norm.

Cross reference this with:

1. Burma cyclone -- how much rice is grown here?
2. Major increase for basic food staples because of the use of traditional food crops as an energy source to reduce dependence upon oil.
3. Continuing political problems in Africa.

We should be helping all stakeholders in our 'Foodbowl Regions', including farmers, irrigators and environmental users, rather than just focus on buying back irrigation allocations so that we can just maintain river flows -- after all -- the drought is continuing, and the BOM has no rainfall relief predicted for the forseeable future.

Topsoils Blown Away

Terrible news from the ABC -- After the massive windstorms that swept through southern parts of Australia, reports suggest that tonnes of priceless topsoils have been stripped off our farmland.
Putting environmental flows back into the Murray is vital -- so too is providing the farmers with enough water for their paddocks -- bind the soil & enable growth of ground cover. Drought does more than dry up rivers -- it puts our soils up into the Extreme Erosion risk category.

Check out story here ABC News

Onesteel Whyalla sent papers on Thermal Desalination

Contacted Onesteel Whyalla management -- passed on the Desal proposal to them. Their blast furnace process generates temperatures of 2,000 deg C - they already capture part of this heat for use in other parts of the steelmaking process. Hopefully they can also use some for thermal desalination.

Water for South Australia

Visited Adelaide - many gardens dead - very dusty - high level of water restrictions in place - La Nina event produced floods in QLD, no respite for SA.

Adelaide also just experienced a 1 in 3,000 year event of continuous hot days [15 days over 38 deg C].
Now there is more stress on the Murray River and Groundwater resources - as per the fourfold increase of salinity levels in the Coorong, extremely low water levels in Lake Alexandrina etc. Some of the groundwater resources failed on a couple of occasions in the past.

Action: Desalination Proposal sent to:
* SA Members of Parliament -- including the Premier, Mike Rann; MP, Andrew Evans; Federal Senator-Elect, Nick Xenophon.
* Private industry - staff members at the Nyrstar Lead Smelter at Port Pirie.
The concept may also be used by the Onesteel Facility at Whyalla.

Rationale: Original paper with Heat Capture/Heat Exchanger process focusses on the Aluminium Smelter at Portland VIC, but it can be used in any Heavy Industry process producing large amounts of heat as a byproduct.

With the Federal Govt have still not able to reach agreement over a comprehensive Murray River Strategy [VIC are still holding out] it looks like the Murray Basin will not get any new water recharge action anytime soon.

Conclusion: By sending this material directly to the South Australians, they may be able to go ahead themselves in a joint venture with SA Heavy Industry to build 2 small [20 M/litre day] Low Temperature Distillation Desal Plants at Port Pirie and Whyalla.
If successful, the plants may be extended/expanded to make South Australia more drought-proof.