Environmental effects of desalination plant Victorian Desalination Project Environment Effects Statement Volume 3 A Victorian Government project Contents Contents Table of Contents Victorian Desalination Project Document Structure ...................................................i Volume 3 Environmental Effects of Desalination Plant ............................................................................... ii 1 Introduction ................................................................................................... 1-1 1.1 Basis of the Project Description ..................................................................................................1-1 1.2 Performance Requirements ........................................................................................................1-4 2 Desalination Plant components ..................................................................... 2-1 2.1 Purpose of the Desalination Plant ...............................................................................................2-1 2.2 Evolution of the Reference Project Desalination Plant ..................................................................2-1 2.2.1 Location....................................................................................................................2-1 2.2.2 Site components........................................................................................................2-4 2.2.3 Technologies .............................................................................................................2-4 2.2.4 Plant design strategies ...............................................................................................2-8 2.3 Reference Project for the Desalination Plant................................................................................2-8 2.3.1 Engineering...............................................................................................................2-9 2.3.2 Key Engineering Data............................................................................................... 2-19 2.3.3 Waste generation and disposal ................................................................................. 2-21 2.3.4 Plant Design and landscaping ................................................................................... 2-26 2.4 Plant construction.................................................................................................................... 2-34 2.5 Commissioning........................................................................................................................ 2-39 2.6 Operation................................................................................................................ 2-39 2.6.1 Operating Regime.................................................................................................... 2-40 2.6.2 Desalination Plant.................................................................................................... 2-40 2.7 Expansion of the Project .......................................................................................................... 2-42 2.8 Decommissioning .................................................................................................................... 2-43 2.9 Variations ............................................................................................................................... 2-43 2.9.1 Additional clarification processes including Dissolved Air Flotation............................... 2-44 2.9.2 Membrane filtration ................................................................................................. 2-44 2.10 Options................................................................................................................................... 2-46 2.11 Concepts outside scope of EES................................................................................................. 2-46 2.12 Conclusion .............................................................................................................................. 2-50 3 Interactions with the environment................................................................ 3-1 3.1 Characterisation of the terrestrial environment............................................................................3-1 3.1.1 Plant site...................................................................................................................3-2 3.1.2 Powlett River and tributary.........................................................................................3-2 Table of Contents 1 3.1.3 Coastal dunes............................................................................................................3-3 3.1.4 Williamsons Beach .....................................................................................................3-3 3.2 Impact pathways for risk and impact assessment ........................................................................3-3 3.3 Risk Assessment........................................................................................................................3-4 3.4 Approach for Impact Assessment ...............................................................................................3-5 3.4.1 Construction activities and risks assessed medium and above.......................................3-6 3.4.2 Operation and risks assessed medium and above ........................................................3-9 4 Landscape character and visual amenity ....................................................... 4-1 4.1 Coastal policy............................................................................................................................4-1 4.2 Existing conditions.....................................................................................................................4-6 4.2.1 Topography and vegetation........................................................................................4-6 4.2.2 Landscape units.........................................................................................................4-8 4.2.3 Landscape sensitivity ............................................................................................... 4-14 4.3 Impact assessment.................................................................................................................. 4-15 4.3.1 Changes to landscape character ............................................................................... 4-15 4.3.2 Visibility of the Desalination Plant ............................................................................. 4-17 4.3.3 Visual impact at publicly accessible viewpoints .......................................................... 4-22 4.3.4 Visual impact at private viewpoints ........................................................................... 4-41 4.4 Mitigation and management..................................................................................................... 4-50 4.4.1 Public viewpoints ..................................................................................................... 4-51 4.4.2 Private viewpoints.................................................................................................... 4-51 4.4.3 Landscape treatment for the plant site...................................................................... 4-53 4.5 Performance Requirements ...................................................................................................... 4-55 5 Geology, geomorphology and soils ................................................................ 5-1 5.1 Existing conditions.....................................................................................................................5-1 5.1.1 Geology ....................................................................................................................5-2 5.1.2 Topography and geomorphology ................................................................................5-6 5.1.3 State Coal Mine ....................................................................................................... 5-13 5.1.4 Soils........................................................................................................................ 5-14 5.2 Impact assessment.................................................................................................................. 5-18 5.3 Construction............................................................................................................................ 5-19 5.3.1 Risks assessed as medium and above ....................................................................... 5-19 5.3.2 Risks assessed as low .............................................................................................. 5-22 5.4 Operation ............................................................................................................................... 5-24 5.4.1 Risks assessed as medium and above ....................................................................... 5-24 5.4.2 Risks assessed as low .............................................................................................. 5-24 5.5 Performance Requirements ...................................................................................................... 5-25 2 Table of Contents 6 Surface water and groundwater .................................................................... 6-1 6.1 Existing conditions.....................................................................................................................6-1