Antinuclear

Northern Water Desalination Plant

By Philip White on Jan 22, 2026

Friends of the Earth Adelaide has lodged a submission to a Commonwealth Government environmental review into the proposed desalination plant at Mullaquana Station near Whyalla. The submission related to the referral of the ‘Northern Water Desalination Plant and Water Transfer System Infrastructure Project’ under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC Number: 2025/10397, closing date for submissions 21/01/2026).

According to the Northern Water Project web site,

“This would be achieved by constructing a seawater desalination plant and a transfer pipeline to supply industry in the Upper Spencer Gulf and Far North.”

“Northern Water aims to deliver a secure, climate-resilient water source to meet the growing needs of existing and emerging industries in South Australia’s Upper Spencer Gulf and Far North. It will unlock the economic growth potential of the region … and will reduce reliance on precious water resources including the Great Artesian Basin and the River Murray.

We certainly support reducing reliance on precious water resources of the Great Artesian Basin (GAB) and the River Murray, but we want stronger assurances that the mound springs (formed by pressurised water from the GAB forcing its way to the surface) will be protected. The vast quantities of water drawn from the GAB by BHP to mine copper, uranium, etc. have caused many mound springs to dry up and threaten those that remain.

We also question whether the Giant Australian Cuttlefish will be adequately protected and wonder why Mullaquana Station was chosen over Cape Hardy, which is further south and was originally the preferred site. 

Our submission focused on two issues:

1. Giant Australian Cuttlefish, and
2. Mound Springs (Great Artesian Basin).

We made the following three recommendations:

• An independent comparative environmental analysis of the Mullaquana Station and Cape Hardy sites should be published before a final decision is made.
• The positive and negative impacts of the project on the Great Artesian Basin, the Mound Springs and the River Murray should be included in the assessment.

January 28, 2026 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | South Australia, water