Hi @elleburra and @frostieshake, similar shortages are occurring...

Hi @elleburra and @frostieshake, similar shortages are occurring in the Hunter catchment; however I think that plans for desalination are further along. A proposed $87m containerised plant is to be an insurance policy if the Hunter reached critical water storage levels. I'm a 30 minute drive from the proposed plant so have been keeping an eye on its progress.The plant would make up to 15 million litres of fresh water each day from seawater and cater for more than 10 per cent of the region's water usage if Level 3 water restrictions were in place. Our region has been on Level 1 restrictions since September and Level 2 is expected to begin in January. You can see the outlooks below:

https://www.hunterwater.com.au/Water-and-Sewer/Water-Supply/Water-Storage-Levels.aspx

Trigger points for construction are below (detailed planning has already been conducted):


Visual representation of the plant below (and schematic drawings):
15830-010

A local news report on the plant is in the link below:
https://www.nbnnews.com.au/2019/10/29/hunter-water-unveils-plans-for-belmont-desalination-plant/

An environmental impact statement has already been conducted and the plan is now on public exhibition until mid December. In the information sheets is a reference site for containerised desalination in Limassol, Cyprus - which happens to be RWL's. The project delivers 20 megalitres of drinking water/day and was built in under 6 months: