In Paphos, an ancient coastal city in southwestern Cyprus, the fate of an idle desalination plant is mired in a standoff.  According to a Cypriot paper, the government’s Water Development Department is “calling for the demolition of the temporary desalination plant” built on government land—“but the operator is refusing to flatten the area and wants to sell it instead” at a cost of €5 million (USD $5,650,500).^[1]  The plant went online in 2011, and was operational for only four months.  It was constructed in response to a drought in 2008, at a cost of €20 million (USD $22,599,000) and has since been idle.  The Cypriot government is asking the company to return its land (after reverting it “back to its original form”), and the Agriculture Ministry has stated that the sale of the facility would be illegal. 

According to the original contract, the company was supposed to build a “temporary structure” for seawater desalination for three years; and then dismantle the structure and return the land to the government.  However, the company decided to build a “more permanent structure,” and since 2014, has confronted legal proceedings for its alleged indiscretion.

As reported in The Age, water-scarce towns close to the multi-billion dollar Wonthaggi desalination plant are now able to access its water supply.  The towns, Nyora, Loch, Korumburra, and Poowong, are located in South Gippsland—a region better known for its rolling hills, beaches, and national park—and will become connected to Victoria’s water grid after the implementation of a plan that costs AU$43.4 million (USD$33,036,080).^[2]  Lisa Neville, the Minister for Environment, Climate Change, and Water, has reported that the four towns will receive the desalinated water via Melbourne’s Cardinia Reservoir, which will then divert water to the Lance Creek treatment plant.  The water supply will possibly reduce the water restrictions placed on the towns; and it will ensure the water supply to South Gippsland's food processing companies (Burra Foods and GBP Exports).^[3]

^{The Desalination plant in Wonthaggi Credit: John Gollings/The Age}

At the Global Water Awards last week in Abu Dhabi, the Carlsbad Desalination Plant was named the International Plant of the Year for 2016.  Spanish company Acciona Agua won Desalination Company of the Year, and Black & Veatch received distinction for the same award.^[4] 

Carlsbad was recognized as the desalination plant “that represents the most impressive technological or ecologically sustainable achievement in the industry.”^[5]  In addition to passing through “seemingly insurmountable technological, financial, and legal hurdles,” the plant’s developers also retained their “green credentials” by partnering with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service “to create, restore and enhance 66 acres of vulnerable local wetland.”^[6]

Acciona Agua was credited for a “rise in the Gulf desalination market [that] has been nothing short of meteoric.”  Last year, Acciona brought the Fujairah F1 expansion online and received two EPC contracts in Qatar, with the help of not only skilful negotiators and process engineers, but also, “a robust R&D team, which is developing the UltraDAF-Evo pre-treatment system to deal with algal blooms, the Hiflus membrane-based pre-treatment application, an energy-efficient backwash treatment system (Vetra), and HydroBionets, a wireless sensor to detect membrane soiling.”^[7]

Black & Veatch stood out for its “key desalination projects and research efforts”—which include the company’s desalination consultancy contracts with the Public Utilities Board of Singapore, the government of Hong Kong, and Saudi Arabia’s Saline Water Conversion Corporation.  The company also worked as an independent engineer on the Carlsbad plant.^[8]

Meanwhile, in Santa Barbara, city officials released an update on a possible future agreement with the Montecito Water District.^[9]  They reported that inaccurate information circulating in the Santa Barbara News Press asserted that there was already an agreement between the City and the Montecito Water District; however, the two parties are working towards reaching an agreement (as to the volume of water for sale and the duration of the agreement).  They expect to complete a “draft agreement” by October 2016.^[10]