남아프라카 콰줄루나탈(KwaZulu-Natal)주 수도사업자인 Umgeni Water는 남쪽 해안 상류지역에서 증가하는 물수요에 대처하기 위해 향후 5년 내에 일로보강(Illovo River)에 해수담수화 플랜트를 구축하는 제안서를 검토하고 있는 것으로 알려졌다. 제안이 받아들여지면 이 플랜트는 남아프리카에서 가장 큰 해수담수화 플랜트가 될 것으로 전망된다.

공영 언론은 이 플랜트가 환경에 피해를 줄 것이라고 주장하고 있다.

 

 

 

Water supplier for South Africa's KwaZulu-Natal province, Umgeni Water, is considering a proposal to build a seawater desalination plant on the Illovo River within the next five years to cope with growing demand in its Upper South Coast region.

 

Were it to go ahead, the project could be the largest seawater desalination plant in South Africa.

 

National press is arguing that the plant will be damaging to the environment. "In terms of the proposed desalination plant, ocean water and billions of planktonic life forms will be sucked into the plant inlet and die 24/7," and "highly concentrated salt brine is toxic to life and this will be pumped back into the ocean via a discharge point 600 metres offshore, and this will add to the ecosystem destruction," according to the national online news service News 24.

 

An environmental impact assessment public consultation last year was attended by 12 people reported News 24.

 

[출처 = Desalination & Water Reuse / 2016년 2월 23일]