Gold Coast Mayor Ron Clarke considers desalination to solve water problem
Gold Coast Mayor Ron Clarke visited the pilot plant of thermal desalination specialist Aqua Dyne at Stapylton, located between the Gold Coast and Brisbane, today (Thursday, 16 September) to explore how the system could solve their long term water problem.

During the visit, Ron Clarke, who is a former world champion middle distance runner, was able to drink a glass of Gold Coast sea water after it had passed through the desalination process.

He pronounced it to be delicious, although in actual operation a small quantity of sea water will be added to the purified water to restore minerals.

Mayor Clarke said he felt that water desalination could provide a potential solution to the longer term provision of water for the Gold Coast.

“It would be an excellent result if a local company, such as Aqua Dyne, which is a Gold Coast ratepayer, could provide that solution”, he said.

Aqua Dyne Managing Director Jim Wilson said that he believed their organisation was well placed to help the Gold Coast meet their future water requirements.

“Our JetWater system can desalinate and purify sea water, or water from the Council’s waste water treatment plants or brackish ground water. It has been designed on a modular basis with few moving parts and no membranes to clog and foul, which we see as being of distinct advantage,” Mr Wilson said.

A recent independent report by international environmental and engineering consultants Maunsell, which rated the Aqua Dyne’s JetWater system as being one of the world’s best.

The report by Maunsell and their Chicago affiliate Metcalf and Eddy, made a cost and technical comparison of the Aqua Dyne JetWater system with a range of other commercial water desalination technologies available around the world.

Maunsell rated the Aqua Dyne system as one of the best overall in the market based on both technical and cost criteria provided by Aqua Dyne.

Thermal desalination of water is based on evaporation, which duplicates nature’s own purification process, by heating water and condensing the steam.

***
Images are available on request

***
Released on behalf of Aqua Dyne by Dennis Rutzou Public Relations. For further information please contact Dennis Rutzou (0411 510 888) or David Lizzio on (02) 9413 4244 (0402 259 830).