The News Review:

- Agbar wins 5.5-yr Algerian water supply contract, its first in Africa
- Water pollution blights fast-growing Irish city
- Desalination ‘not the solution’
- $3b desal plant to double bills

Agbar wins 5.5-yr Algerian water supply contract, its first in Africa
Forbes – Jun 19, 2007
In a statement, Agbar said the contract is in Oran in the northwest of Algeria. The contract is the Catalonian utility’s first in the African continent. europemadrid@thomson.

Water pollution blights fast-growing Irish city
International Herald Tribune – Jun 19, 2007
In a submission to the government, the engineers called for an assessment of all Irish drinking water. “We have a poor record in putting infrastructure in place ahead of development,” said Kernan, adding that the Galway crisis was “a wake-up call” for the whole country. In Galway, the council responded by seeking out new water supplies from the south of the city. It hopes to have new filters installed on its Lough Corrib treatment plant by midsummer, screening out the bug, with luck in time to rescue a large part of the city's tourism season. It also agreed to supply subsidized bottled water for Galway residents. Large containers are stacked up in convenience stores. Simon Quirke, 22, collecting for a children's charity in the rain on Galway's central Eyre Square, said he had saved money by buying 20 liters, about five gallons, of bottled water in Dublin the previous weekend…
“We have a poor record in putting infrastructure in place ahead of development,” said Kernan, adding that the Galway crisis was “a wake-up call” for the whole country. In Galway, the council responded by seeking out new water supplies from the south of the city. It hopes to have new filters installed on its Lough Corrib treatment plant by midsummer, screening out the bug, with luck in time to rescue a large part of the city's tourism season. It also agreed to supply subsidized bottled water for Galway residents. Large containers are stacked up in convenience stores. Simon Quirke, 22, collecting for a children's charity in the rain on Galway's central Eyre Square, said he had saved money by buying 20 liters, about five gallons, of bottled water in Dublin the previous weekend. “Tourism?” he said.

Desalination ‘not the solution’
BBC News – Jun 19, 2007
Desalination plants already play a major role in providing water for drinking and irrigation in areas such as the Middle East, where freshwater supplies are scarce. But many other nations, including the US, China and Spain are turning to the technology to meet growing demands. "Water supply, on a global basis, is a problem," commented Richard Bowen, a fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering. "Desalination is set to become more important because the demand for water is going to increase, and a large percentage of the world’s population is situated in coastal areas. " Professor Bowen, from the University of Wales’ School of Engineering, Swansea, said the environmental impact of desalination was well understood by the industry. "The basic problem is that by taking sea water and producing fresh water, you are going to get a stream of fresh water, which is what you want, but you also produce a concentrated salt stream," he explained. "You have to be very careful what you do with that concentrated stream and where you put it back into the environment.

$3b desal plant to double bills
NEWS.com.au – Jun 19, 2007
"These projects will deliver a 50 per cent boost to Melbourne’s water supply within five years and allow us to move water to where it’s most needed. "They will increase Victoria’s total supply by 375 billion litres each year. "The plan will secure water supplies for regional centres, farms, and stressed rivers, and means we can steadily move back to unrestricted water supplies in our cities and towns. "The major projects are:A $3. 1 billion desalination plant supplying 150 billion litres of water a year for Melbourne, Geelong, Westernport and Wonthaggi. A $1 billion irrigation upgrade in the Goulburn Murray’s food bowl to plug leaking channels over eight years. Expanding Victoria’s water grid with more than 250km of pipelines connecting Melbourne’s water system with the desalination plant and northern irrigation upgrades, to connect Geelong to Melbourne’s supplies, and to connect Hamilton to the Grampians Wimmera Mallee system…
Mr Bracks said the desalination plant would provide more than a third of Melbourne’s yearly water needs without relying on rainfall. Renewable energy will be bought to offset greenhouse gases and ensure the plant is carbon neutral. "It will deliver the single largest boost to Melbourne’s water supply since the Thomson Dam was built 25 years ago," he said. Private companies will build the infrastructure, but the new water services will stay in public hands, he said. Wonthaggi was chosen, rather than Port Phillip Bay and Western Port, because salty discharge could be more readily dispersed into the open sea. Sea water converted into drinking water at the desalination plant will be piped 85km to connect to Melbourne’s supplies and the Cardinia and Silvan reservoirs. Regional Development Minister John Brumby said the irrigation upgrade in the Goulburn Murray would stem massive water losses through leaks, evaporation and inefficiencies.