This week, the renovated Broken Hill Desalination Plant in New South Wales, Australia will resume operations.  The plant has been undergoing a capacity increase and equipment upgrades that will enable the use of high-recovery reverse osmosis technology.^[1]  Meanwhile, by early next week, the city of Broken Hill will no longer draw water from Copi Hollow.  Instead, it will rely on Weir 32 at Menindee Lakes.^[2]  The shallow, freshwater Menindee Lakes is the main water source for residents of the city as well as New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia.  Menindee undergoes average evaporation losses of over 400 giga-litres of water each year—although the Australian and NSW Governments are currently developing infrastructure to attempt to minimize this water loss and improve the lakes’ water storage abilities.^[3]  

The San Antonio Water System (SAWS) in Texas has announced that in October 2016 it will become home to the first phase of what may be the United States’ largest brackish water desalination plant by 2026.  The plant will cost roughly $114 million (USD) to build, and it is expected to provide 8 percent of the region’s water supply.  SAWS geologist, Richard Donat, has stated that the organization will utilize a deep well injection to dispose of the plant’s waste brine.^[5]

In Sydney, a storm has caused significant damage to the dormant Kurnell desalination plant.  The control room as well as several roofs at the plant have suffered significant water and wind damage.  The controversial plant has never produced water beyond what was necessary for its testing phase; while Sydney’s water users have paid approximately $195 million (USD) a year since 2012 to maintain the facility.  Existing measures restrict the plant from operating unless Sydney’s dam levels drop below 70 percent. Water levels are currently approaching maximum capacity.^[6]

The energy engineering company, Doosan Babcock, has won an eight-year maintenance contract for a plant in Abu Dhabi.  The contract requires the company to provide technical support, parts, and equipment provision and repair at the Taweeleh B Power and Water Desalination Plant—the second largest facility of its kind in the United Arab Emirates.  This means that Doosan Babcock will oversee the operations of six thermal boiler units, five heat recovery steam generators, 13 multi-stage flash water desalination units, and 12 potable water tanks.^[7]  This contract arrives after the opening of Doosan Babcock’s new Middle East and North Africa technical hub in Abu Dhabi.

The Dongjiakou mega-desalination plant, located in China’s Shandong province, has recently awarded Energy Recovery a $2.3 million award to supply its PX pressure exchanger technology.  Energy Recovery will partner with Beijing Origin Water in order to complete the project.^[8]