It concludes:

*Monitoring results indicate that the SSDP is operating e*ff*ectively and that the Environmental Quality Objectives for the marine environment are being maintained. Water Corporation has demonstrated that the SSDP has met MS792 criteria for salinity and dissolved oxygen and is achieving the required di*ff*user performance to meet 99% species protection at the LEPA boundary".*

*"Seagrass Health Monitoring continues and while a decline in seagrass shoot density was recorded post construction, we have seen a recovery and stabilization of seagrass shoot density over the last three-years of monitoring".*

*"Water Corporation is in the process of developing a strategy for the purchase of renewable energy and*/*or carbon o*ff*sets for the SSDP".*

*"Water Corporation and SSWA plan to undertake the following:*


Every year, Water Corporation publishes a detailed monitoring report on the corrective measures of each of the two desalination plants it operates, PSDP [50] and SSDP [51]. The results obtained from the monitoring plan are very positive, since they demonstrate that the natural environment is not affected.

The way to protect the environment developed by countries such as Spain or Australia are examples to be followed by other countries which are developing important desalination projects without adopting the necessary environmental protection.

As a conclusion regarding the environmental impact caused by desalination plants, it can be asserted that by adopting the appropriate corrective measures and monitoring their implementation and effects, said environmental impact is perfectly acceptable due to the enormous benefits of guaranteeing drinking water supplies to populations with severe supply shortage. Moreover, the use of desalinated water frees other sources of supply, allowing the rise of phreatic values, the recharge of aquifers (depleted in many cases by over-exploitation), freeing river intakes, which allows rivers to be recovered as a fish habitat, and the recovery of wetlands and natural lakes.
