Water for future generations

Our water security planning analyses water availability and historic customer demand in order to project future water supply requirements. We consider residential and non-residential use and match the demand to the potential influence of:

• climate, including the latest climate change data (rainfall, temperature and evaporation)
• population projections
• state Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
• water prices, water restrictions and network changes

Our water security plans - which are developed for each region in South Australia - are one way of driving our need to secure water for future generations. These plans form part of our regulatory business proposal – Our Plan 2020-24 - which we develop and submit to our economic regulator, the Essential Services Commission of South Australia (ESCOSA) every four years.

Our Kangaroo Island long-term Water Security Plan ensures a secure water supply to meet the island’s residential and commercial needs into the future.

To enable growth on the Island, we are constructing a new desalination plant at Penneshaw, which will will supplement the smaller existing nearby facility and Middle River Reservoir, helping to improve drinking water reliability, support the local economy and provide greater bushfire resilience.

The needs of the Kangaroo Island community are reviewed yearly and recognise their changing environment.

We have a Water Security Plan for the state's South East and Murray Mallee that covers 19 towns in those regions to make sure they have a reliable source of water into the future. Available water resources have been analysed for:

• Water allocations. We hold groundwater allocations across the South East and Murray Mallee. Based on current local groundwater trends, the allocations are projected to provide sufficient water supplies for these two regions for the foreseeable future.
• Maintaining water quality. We strive to deliver the best quality water to all our customers through constant monitoring and testing programs.
• Infrastructure upgrades. The Blue Lake is and will remain Mount Gambier's primary water supply source. We want to maintain a sustainable level of extraction from the lake and to do this, we are looking to diversify the water sources that supply this regional city. While there is generally adequate pumping infrastructure to support water supply needs, the plan recommends some infrastructure upgrades.

In 2007, we began working with the Eyre Peninsula community as we prepared a long-term water plan for the region. The plan identified seawater desalination as the preferred future supply option to ensure drinking water security for 35,000 customers living and working in the region.

Drinking water on the Eyre Peninsula is currently sourced from groundwater (Uley South Basin) or the River Murray, or a combination of both. In future, this will be largely replaced with seawater, provided by a desalination plant. Our preferred location for this plant is Billy Lights Point.

This climate-independent supply will provide more water security for local residents and give the Uley South Basin time to recharge.