First Desalination Plant comes on Tap

Perth residents have begun drinking water from the Indian Ocean with the opening of Australia's first major desalination plant, at Kwinana.

Water from the $387 million seawater desalination facility at Kwinana, south of the city, began pumping through Perth's supply system on the weekend, Premier Alan Carpenter said.

It will supply 17 per cent of the city's water when it ramps up to full capacity in two months time, he said.

"Western Australia has become the first state in Australia to use desalination as a major public water source," Mr Carpenter said.

"By harnessing water from the ocean, we have acquired an abundant source that is not dependent on rainfall."

The plant, built as part of a joint venture between Multiplex Group and French-based water treatment specialist Degremont, is the largest of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere and the third largest of its kind in the world.

NSW recently canned a decision to build a large desalination plant, arguing it was not yet needed and was too expensive.