Legal Risk Management in the Victorian Desalination Project Report

This report provides an in-depth analysis of the legal risk management strategies employed in the Victorian Desalination Project (VDP), also known as the Wonthaggi Desalination Project. The project, a Public Private Partnership, supplies water to Melbourne, Geelong, and other regional areas and is crucial for supplementing water needs during droughts. The report details the project's scope, objectives, and the relevant regulations, including the Planning and Environmental Act 1987, Environment Protection Act 1970, and others. A key focus is on the features of the contract between the Victorian government and Aquasure, along with an examination of how risks are apportioned between the clients and contractors. The report highlights the project's commitment to harmonious industrial relations, occupational health and safety, and sustainable practices. The conclusion emphasizes the project's significance in providing a sustainable water supply while adhering to environmental regulations, making it one of the greenest projects globally.

Running head: Legal risk management
Legal risk management

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Executive Summary
The Victorian Desalination Plant is a purification plant which removes salt from water. It is also
known as Victorian Desalination Project and Wonthaggi Desalination Project. It is situated at
Dalyston on the Bass Coast in Southern Victoria in Australia. It is one of the largest projects next
to the Melbourne’s Water mechanism after the Thomson River Dam was completed in the year
1983.
In the year 2007, the project was initiated by Premier Steve Bracks when the water storage level
of Melbourne was at its lowest level being 28.7 percent of its water storage capacity.
So, in this report, the case study of the Victorian Desalination Project will be discussed along
with the relevant applicable provision applicable on it. The details of the contract applicable on
this project along with apportionment of risk amongst the clients and the contractors will also be
discussed.

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Contents
Introduction.................................................................................................................... 3
Summary of the Project’s Scope and Objectives.......................................................................3
Relevant regulations applicable on the VDP Project..................................................................5
Features of the contract applied in the project and the manner in which the risks are apportioned between
the clients and the contractors in this contract..........................................................................6
Features of the contract applied in the project.......................................................................6
The manner in which the risks are apportioned between the clients and the contractors in this contract 7
Conclusion..................................................................................................................... 7
References................................................................................................................. 8

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Introduction
The Victorian Desalination Project supplies water to Melbourne, Geelong along with some other
regional areas. It can supply high quality water whenever required. Also, it has a life up to 100
years which will help it in supplementing the water needs of the people in times of draught in the
future (Aquasure, n.d.).
Initiated in 2007, the project was completed in 2012. The water supply to the public was started
in March 2017 through Cardinia Reservoir. The project is incurring a cost amounting to $608
Million in a year .The desalination plant consists of 29 buildings which also includes the reverse
osmosis building. It has the capacity to produce 150 Billion liters of water per year.
Additionally it has the capability to expand the production of water to 200 Billion liters in a year
(Porter et al., 2014).
So, this report is about the Victorian Desalination Project and appropriate provisions applicable
on it. Besides this, the features of the contract applicable on this project along with the sharing of
risk amongst the clients and the contracts will also be discussed in it.
Summary of the Project’s Scope and Objectives
The Melbourne Desalination Plant is a Public Private Partnership between the Department of
Sustainability and Environment of the Victorian Government and Aquasure. The plant is one of
the most ecofriendly projects in the world utilizing renewable energy resources for its operation.
Also, it has installed the world leading energy recovery machines to lessen the power
consumption and adopted a unique design with green roof with a coastal park (Loftus and March,
2016).
Due to the consistent drought and the rising necessity of the water requirements, the government
of Victoria announced the next stage of its plan for water production in June, 2007. It was known
as Our Water Our Future: The Next Stage of the Government’s Water Plan. The plan provides
the long term solutions for providing water by expanding and enhancing the supply of water in
Melbourne. Additionally, the networking of water resources was performed across the State with

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the help of water grid. A flexible and speedy solution was designed for the changing water needs
of the citizens of the country with the help of this project.
The scope of the project comprises of the components such as establishment of Desalination
Plant, Marine Structures, Power Supply and Transfer Pipelines. Desalination Plant has been
established with the production capacity of 150 Gigaliters per year. Also, it has the potential to
increase its production of water up to 200 Gigaliters per year (Beaudoin et al.,2016).
The Marine Structures has been designed to intake the seawater and to purify it through the
saline concentrate outlet. There is a transfer pipeline which is approximately 85 Kilometers long
and it joins the Desalination Plant to the Melbourne Water supply network. Moreover, there is a
power supply connected to the Desalination Plant and the connected infrastructure.
The objectives of the Desalination Plant are to produce 150 GL desalinated water per year. Also,
it can produce up to 200GL per year and can supply high quality water in times of draught. It is
designed for storage of desalinated water (Zotalis et al., 2014). Also, it conducts the processes
for waste treatment .It uses certain chemicals for the pretreatment, desalination and post
treatment of water.
The Marine Structures transfer the sea water to the Desalination Plant and eliminates the saline
content from the desalination process. These are situated one or two kilometers offshore from the
Desalination Plant in the open coastal area. This structure consists of sea water intake and treats
it with the solution for eliminating the saline concentrate and discharging back to the ocean.
The transfer pipelines have the capability to supply 200GL of water per year. It is connected to
Melbourne Water infrastructure which allows wide distribution of water with the help of
Melbourne Water supply network and it is also connected to the regional water authorities.
The Power supply supplies the electrical energy to the Desalination Plant and Transfer Pipeline.
The objective of the power supply is to connect the existing power supply network near Tynong
via a220 KV northerly grid connection (Stewart, 2016).

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Relevant regulations applicable on the VDP Project
Following acts are applicable on the VDP project:
1. The Planning and Environmental Act 1987
2. Environment Protection Act 1970
3. Coastal Management Act 1995
4. Aboriginal Heritage Act 2006
5. Water Act 1989
The Planning and Environmental Act 1987 provides a regulatory system for the use and
development of land in Victoria. It is administrated throughout Victoria with the help of planning
schemes under this act. It sets out specified details on the various uses and development which
are permitted within each municipal area (Research Office Legislative Council Secretariat,
2015).
The Environment Protection Act 1970 has formulated the Environmental Protection Authority
(EPA). It makes the provisions which outline the powers, accountabilities and duties for the
avoidance of pollution and safeguarding the environment. It provides the legislative framework
for obtaining information and suggestions regarding the possible effects on environment due to
the installation of the project by the decision makers. The act mandates the formulation of a body
to prepare Environmental Effects Statements (EES) which must be submitted to the Minister
governing the Act (Victoria State Government, 2018).
Coastal Management Act 1995 provides the approvals for the utilization and evaluation of the
coastal Crown Land in Victoria. According to Section 3(1) of the act, the Coastal Crown Land
refers to any land preserved as per the Victorian Crown Land (Reserves) Act 1978 for
safeguarding the coastlines.
It also consists of sea waters and the sea beds within the limits of Victoria. The Crown land
within the limit of 200 meters of the water mark of the coastal waters is also included in coastal
Crown Land.

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According to Section 37 of the Act, an individual must not utilize or evaluate coastal Crown
Land without the written consent of the Minister governing the Act.
Aboriginal Heritage Act 2006 administers the formulation of the Aboriginal heritage Council
with the membership of owners who shall suggest the safeguarding of Aboriginal heritage .Also,
it manages the Aboriginal parties which develop the management plans and execute the cultural
heritage agreements . The site of the plant, the transfer pipeline and the power supply corridor
cover the areas of both Aboriginal and European cultural heritages.
Water Act 1989 provides for the administration of the terrestrial phase of water cycle,
management of sustainable use and its conservation. It also includes the nullification of the
inconsistencies in the treatment of surface and groundwater resources and waterways (Ettehad,
2015).
Features of the contract applied in the project and the manner in which the risks are
apportioned between the clients and the contractors in this contract
Features of the contract applied in the project
The Melbourne Desalination Plant is Public Private Partnership between the Department of
Sustainability and Environment of the Government of Victoria and Aquasure.
According to UniPhi (2018) the features of the contract applied in the project are that the parties
to the contract believe that the harmonious industrial relations should exist amongst all the
stakeholders. The parties approve to work in a cooperative way to ensure the successful
installation of the project.
The parties believe that the project should successfully supply the water to the people of
Victoria. The project aims to secure the highest level of occupational health and safety standards.
It is also focused on developing and preserving the best practices in the completion of the
infrastructural projects.
Lastly, it aims to achieve and maintain the employee commitment for the completion of the
project in a preserved and effective way (Hecka et al., 2016).

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The manner in which the risks are apportioned between the clients and the contractors in
this contract
The risks are allocated amongst the clients and contractors in the contract by adopting the
following methods:
1. If the employee working on the site of the contract, faces an unavoidable risks to his/her
health and safety, he or she should immediately withdraw from the site and inform the employer
about it. The employee must follow the directions of the employer and should perform any other
work within the expertise of the employee provided it should be safe for him or her to perform.
2. If a problem associated with safety has been detected at the workplace , then the
Occupational Health and Safety Representative will examine the area and will determine what
action can be taken to prevent this.
3. The parties to the contract will follow the risks warnings which will last for 6 months
(Falkenberg and Styan, 2015).
4. Lastly, no chemical will be added in the Desalinated Water which has the potential risk to
human health and life. To protect the humans from harm, suitable monitoring equipment will be
installed to abide by the compliance as per the Safe Drinking Water Act 2003 (Duff, Labate and
Slugg, 2017).
Conclusion
Hence, to conclude, it can be said that Victorian Desalination Plant is amongst the biggest
desalination plant in Australia which supplements the fresh water requirements of about one
third of the households and industries, without depending on rain. The project is one of the
greenest projects in the entire world utilizing the renewable resources to conserve 100 % of the
operational energy.
Also, it ensures that along with supplying desalinated water to the citizens of the land, the
execution of the activities of the project does not have a negative impact on the environment .In
this regard it complies with the various laws and regulations such as The Planning and
Environmental Act 1987, Environment Protection Act 1970 etc.

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References
Aquasure (n.d.) The Victorian Desalination Project [online] Available from:
https://www.aquasure.com.au/desalination-plant
Beaudoin , A.J., Bonefas, S.J., Jacoway, I.R. and Marx, A.L.(2015) Analysis of Domestic and
International Desalination to Outline the Decision Making Landscape for Implementation and
Operation of Desalination Plants in the United States. [online] Available from:
https://web.wpi.edu/Pubs/E-project/Available/E-project-121615-173333/unrestricted/
Final_Report.pdf
Duff, J., Labate, V. and Slugg, A.M.(2017) Prospects and Pitfalls of Desalination
Development: Insights from Three States. Ocean and Coastal Law Journal. 22(2),pp. 130-155.
Ettehad, E. (2015) Public Interest in Desalination Delivery in Three Australian States – A
Newspaper Content Analysis[online] Available from:
http://search.ror.unisa.edu.au/record/UNISA_ALMA11142892180001831/media/digital/open/
9915996012001831/12142892170001831/13142955910001831/pdf
Falkenberg , L.J. and Styan, C.A.(2015) The use of simulated whole effluents in toxicity
assessments: A review of case studies from reverse osmosis desalination plants .
Desalination. 368(2015), pp. 3-9.
Hecka,N., Paytana,A. , Pottsc ,D.C. and Haddad, B.(2016) Predictors of local support for a
seawater desalination plant in a small coastal community. Environmental Science &
Policy.66(2016), pp. 101–111.
Loftus , A. and March , H.(2016) Financializing Desalination: Rethinking the Returns of Big
Infrastructure. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research. [online] Available from:
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/1468-2427.12342
Porter, G., Michael, Downie, David, Scarborough, Helen, Sahin, Oz, Stewart and Rodney (2014)
Drought and Desalination: Melbourne water supply and development choices in the twenty-first
century. Desalination and Water Treatment. XX (2014), pp. 1-19.

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Research Office Legislative Council Secretariat(2015) Fact Sheet Seawater desalination in
Australia[online] Available from:
http://www.legco.gov.hk/research-publications/english/1415fs10-seawater-desalination-in-
australia-20150930-e.pdf
Stewart, M. (2016) Victoria Infrastructure Investment Update[online] Available from:
https://www.engineersaustralia.org.au/sites/default/files/content-files/2016-12/
infrastructure_investment_update_2016_-_vic.pdf
UniPhi (2018) Victoria Desalination Plant Records and Document Management[online]
Available from: http://uniphi.com.au/case-studies/victoria-desalination-plant-record-and-
document-management/
Victoria State Government (2018) Environmental Effects Statement[online] Available from:
https://www.water.vic.gov.au/water-grid-and-markets/victorian-desalination-project/
environmental-management/environmental-effects-statement
Zotalis, K., Dialynas , E.G. , Mamassis ,N. and Angelakis, A.N.(2014) Desalination
Technologies: Hellenic Experience. Water . 2014(6), pp. 1134-1150.