Thread: Putting forward the idea of piping water from Tas to Vic....

Originally Posted by bee utey

The huge energy to pump water across Bass Straight would come from where? Gigawatts of hydroelectricity probably, and coal power when you run out of water power.

This is simply not true. The energy requirement is not great. See my post above re the Kalgoorlie pipeline.

Willem

Originally Posted by willem

This is simply not true. The energy requirement is not great. See my post above re the Kalgoorlie pipeline.

Willem

Fair enough, a pipeline engineer is needed to give real numbers to this question. However I think the down hill part of the deal would be far less than the friction losses over how many km? Too lazy to get out the atlas.

The Kalgoorlie pipeline is a classic example of engineering might, benefitting the miners and the WA economy in large amounts. The flip side is that the original pipeline had steam powered pumping stations along it. This led to massive clearing of timber and the associated problems with rising dryland salinity. These costs weren't applied to the original pipeline and will cost mega dollars in lost acricultural production.

Simply without a full public analysis of cost and benefit no such scheme should go ahead, especially not in the hands of private developers.

For a better understanding of Australia's pipe dreams, you should read "The Water Dreamers, the remarkable history of our dry continent" by Michael Cathcart. I borrowed a copy from my local library, it was very interesting!

You really need to watch the videos.... most of the questions are answered

Costs... Yield...environment....etc

Btw.. Victoria is building a desalination plant ...Cost $4.9 Billion ..water bills are expected to double over the next five years to pay for it

Update: Sorry that's already blown out to $5.6 Billion and it still in its infancy...

Originally Posted by bee utey

Fair enough, a pipeline engineer is needed to give real numbers to this question. However I think the down hill part of the deal would be far less than the friction losses over how many km? Too lazy to get out the atlas.

The Kalgoorlie pipeline is a classic example of engineering might, benefitting the miners and the WA economy in large amounts. The flip side is that the original pipeline had steam powered pumping stations along it. This led to massive clearing of timber and the associated problems with rising dryland salinity. These costs weren't applied to the original pipeline and will cost mega dollars in lost acricultural production.

Simply without a full public analysis of cost and benefit no such scheme should go ahead, especially not in the hands of private developers.

For a better understanding of Australia's pipe dreams, you should read "The Water Dreamers, the remarkable history of our dry continent" by Michael Cathcart. I borrowed a copy from my local library, it was very interesting!

From Tassie to Melbourne ~ 350 kms, and the water source is significantly higher that the destination.

From Perth to Kalgoorlie ~ 650 km and the water source is 300 metres lower than the destination.

I acknowledge the problems of the past WRT the Kalgoorlie pipeline. But they aren't there today. Efficient electric pumps now pump the water. That pipeline has repaid the investment many many times. It gives life to the city of Kalgoorlie-Boulder and many other towns along the way.

Given the shorter distance, plus the elevation of the source over the destination, this should be easy - especially with more than a century of technological development since then!

Willem