Desalination unit secures water for remote Australian school
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Researchers at Murdoch University in Western Australia collaborated with industry and the Wongutha Christian Aboriginal Parent-Directed School (CAPS) to install a self-sufficient desalination unit over 700 kilometers from Perth.
Many rural communities in Australia struggle with water access, relying on expensive and inefficient deliveries from cities. The team built a desalination unit small enough to fit in a shipping container, powered by solar energy, to transform salty groundwater into fresh water for the school.
The Wongutha CAPS boarding school previously sourced water from a nearby farm, but the supply was decreasing in both quality and quantity. Professor Wendall Ela led the Murdoch University team in developing a decentralized system focused on small-scale, cost-effective solutions for rural areas, unlike larger desalination plants common since the 1980s. The unit not only provides clean drinking water but also manages the resulting salt by pumping it to a nearby field of saltbush, a plant used for livestock feed.
Since installation, the system has delivered over 7.5 megaliters of water to the school, improving the quality of life for students and staff. Wongutha CAPS also involves students in the unit’s operation and maintenance, hoping they will carry this knowledge back to their own communities. This project is part of a larger WaterSmart Farms initiative evaluating over 50 desalination units across Western Australia.
