SYDNEY, March 20 (Xinhua) -- A controversial desalination plant in Australian Victoria State has fired into action for the first time four years after it was completed.
The first 50 gigaliters of desalinated waters was pumped into the Cardinia Reservoir, 50 kilometers south-east of Melbourne, with the state government confirming it would order 15 gigaliters per year for the next three years.
Lisa Neville, Victoria's Water Minister, allayed fears that the plant would result in rising water bills for Victorians, saying that the contract with the plant operator would offset the cost of the water order.
"In that three-year period for either this 50 gigaliters or for that minimum water order over the next three years there will be no additional cost to people's water bills for that water order," Neville told reporters on Monday.
The 3.08 billion U.S. dollar desalination plant, which extracts minerals from salt water to produce water suitable for consumption, was completed in December 2012 but has been idle since as the state has experienced high rainfall.
Peter Walsh, spokesman for the Opposition, said that the order for water was unnecessary as the state's water storages sat at two thirds full.
"It's absolutely ridiculous to say that having a permanent desal order will not cost Melbourne Water customers money, it will cost them money every single year," Walsh said.
Neville refuted Walsh's claims, saying the plant was not just for emergencies.
"We do need to move past this concept that the desal is for a crisis only. It's there to avoid a crisis, so a minimum order makes sure that we do that," she said.
"It also stops a major fluctuation in water pricing for customers, so you (order) 50 gigs or 100 gigs and all of a sudden that one year you water price goes up substantially on your household bill. This stops that... because smaller orders are cheaper for customers."
