Coastal Reservoir-to Supply SE Queensland Sufficient Freshwater from the Sea without Desalination

摘要

Australia is one of the driest countries in the world, and its southeast Queensland will have extreme deficit in water supply. Many proposals have been suggested to seal the water deficit up to 500GL/year in 2050. These countermeasures include more inland reservoirs, wastewater recycle and reuse, and desalination plants etc. this study shows that none of these measures are effective and sustainable for the problem, by analyzing the rainfall data (1200mm/year) and runoff data (10,000GL/year), it is found that the shortage is not water, rather than storage capacity. Based on this discovery, it is proposed that the technology of coastal reservoirs may be an alternative. Its feasibility and sustainability are discussed and analyzed in this paper in terms of water supply reliability and water quality. It is found that the strategy of coastal reservoirs meets the regional water demand well, and it is sustainable, environment-friendly and cost effective.