You can help ensure the unique and extraordinary annual breeding aggregation of the Giant Australian Cuttlefish is protected.

The State Government is consulting between now and February on which of three potential locations in the Upper Spencer Gulf (USG) should be studied further as the potential site for a major desalination plant.

One of these sites is Pt Lowly just north of Whyalla – home of the unique and extraordinary annual breeding aggregation of the Giant Australian Cuttlefish.

12 years ago, BHP Billiton tried to impose a desalination plant there and it was met with fierce resistance from environmentalists, fishers and the Whyalla community.

The good news is that one of the other potential sites – Mullaquana - appears to offer a much more sustainable option.

And if Mullaquana is selected as the study site to investigate further rather than Pt Lowly we will all hopefully avoid a frustrating and difficult rear-guard battle.

You can help ensure Mullaquana is chosen by completing this survey.

Some further information: Northern Water Supply fact sheet

Why Mullaquana should be chosen as the preferred study site:

• Unlike the other two short listed sites, Mullaquana is by far the most potentially sustainable option
• It has wider deep water near enough offshore and significantly higher brine flushing & dilution potential than the other two sites
• It potentially will cost more, but that must not be used as reason to justify not selecting it for further investigation

Why Pt Lowly should not be chosen as the preferred study site:

• Point Lowly is unsustainable, lacks social license and unacceptably maximises perceived risk & impacts on iconic marine values in nearby cuttlefish breeding area.
• The proposed site is constrained by local foreshore & heritage values.
• It is closely bounded and constrained by proposed hydrogen industry operations
• Point Lowly is too far into the USG to provide a required level of flushing and dispersal and dilution of brine discharge and would compromise desalination expansion options in longer term. A
• This is a deeply unpopular option which will not be supported by environmentalists, the fishing community and Whyalla residents.

Why Crag Point should not be chosen as the preferred study site:

• Crag point is unsustainable given the bounded narrow foreshore area and low brine flushing potential so far into the USG.
• It has high foreshore & heritage values
• It will have significant marine & industry impacts with a prawn lifecycle aggregation along that coastal area in USG.

Help ensure Mullaquana is chosen by completing this survey.