The One Basin alternative water quickstart project is a partnership between Osmoflo, Flinders University, the University of Adelaide and the Loxton Research Hub.

The project seeks to provide insight into the diversification of irrigated water sources via brackish groundwater, including socio-enviro-economic implications. Over the next 12 months, the project will identify a demonstration desalination site, develop an online analytical tool for evaluating desalination costs and report on future outlook across the basin.

Since project inception, there have been many conversations with a wide variety of stakeholders. The project team recently undertook a field trip to consult with representatives from wineries in Langhorne Creek, South Australian irrigation trusts, the Almond Centre of Excellence, a variety of growers in the Loxton region, SA Water operations managers, the Murraylands and Riverland Landscape Board and SARDI researchers. Future trips are planned to visit potential sites within the Mallee region.

The project team are keen to hear about existing schemes or potential implementation sites for desalination within the basin.

Similarly, there is a co-design team investigating opportunities across the basin linked to alternative water. Please do not hesitate to email the research lead, michael.leonard@adelaide.edu.au, if you would like to give input, discuss co-design options, or if you would like to be added to the monthly project update mailing list. Alternatively, you might prefer to discuss with the Loxton Research Hub manager, Kym Walton.

The project team is grateful for the significant level of involvement and goodwill from stakeholders and looks forward to sharing outputs with you in future updates.