Desalination plant delayed, despite fears Eyre Peninsula could run out of water

Key points

• Work on the Eyre Peninsula Desalination Plant in South Australia has been pushed back six months to mid-2027, due to hard granite slowing tunnelling. SA Water says consumer access to water will remain unchanged.
• Residents of Port Lincoln and surrounding areas had been warned they could run out of clean drinking water by 2026. Higher rainfall this year has raised water levels in the Uley South Basin, which SA Water says is enough to supply customers until the plant opens.
• Opponents say the cost, now estimated at about $470 million, will rise further.