Locals blocked a desalination plant in Cornwall, fearing harm to marine life and suggesting alternatives such as better water management.
Desalination removes salt from seawater. It treats the water to make it safe to drink. Then, they pump salty brine back. Locals worried about harm to wildlife. Seagrass, maerl beds, and seahorses are there.
St Austell Bay has six sewage outlets. One is close to the plant’s proposed site. People feared contaminated water would be used. SWW said this helped with climate change. Tourism drives up water use in summer.
SWW still wants to build the desalination plant. They applied for a marine license. This lets them do survey work for the project.
One person said Cornwall gets lots of rain. They think better management is the key. They don’t want to evaporate seawater. Pumping salt back creates issues. Nature already desalinates water well.
Another person said desalination helps during droughts. It secures Cornwall’s future drinking water supply. They feel reducing river water usage is good. This makes desalination a good choice.
Someone else said use reservoirs instead. Desalinating with lots of energy is bad, they remarked. Rivers dry up during less rain. Reservoirs store the water.
One person recalled a nearly dry river in 2022. Water came from a lake. There’s a limit on taking water from the river. They need to find new water sources. Desalination seems like a good option.
Someone else suggested fixing the sewage issue first, and another person agreed.
They want to improve wastewater treatment first. Someone believed that would reduce summer hosepipe bans. People want to know why that fix cannot be done.
One person suggested using upper estuaries for fresh water. They want better water storage for floods. More trees are needed, too. Trees help store moisture and nutrients.
