Central Coast Council has begun the next stage of planning for the proposed Toukley Desalination Water Treatment Plant. This project is part of Council’s long‑term planning to help secure the region’s drinking water supply during times of severe and prolonged drought.

The desalination plant would be located next to the existing Toukley Sewage Treatment Plant. Importantly, it would only be constructed and operated if required during a future drought. At this stage, Council is undertaking concept design and environmental studies to ensure the project is plan ready should it ever be needed.

Desalination is the process of removing salt from seawater to produce drinking water. It provides a rainfall‑independent water source, helping to strengthen the region’s water resilience and support a growing population.

Council currently has planning approval for a 20 megalitre per day (ML/day) desalination plant at Toukley, with an intake previously proposed under Budgewoi Beach. As part of the current investigations, Council is now seeking approval for a 30 ML/day plant, using a conventional offshore ocean intake structure instead.

This revised approach is intended to:

• Reduce visual and functional impacts on local beaches
• Improve constructability if the plant is ever required
• Better reflect modern desalination design standards

Council has undertaken extensive community consultation and carefully considered customer feedback. As a result, revised plans are now being proposed, which will inform the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to be submitted to the Department of Planning, Infrastructure and Environment. Part of this consultation included an options assessment process that directly incorporated feedback from our customers and community. This feedback played an important role in shaping the preferred project approach.

As part of this process, seven potential options were assessed for:

• A seawater intake structure
• A pumping station location
• A seawater transfer pipeline

These elements are essential for the operation of a desalination plant, enabling seawater to be safely extracted and transported for treatment. Based on what we heard, the following key changes are being proposed:

• The seawater intake point would be located approximately 1 kilometre offshore from Jenny Dixon Beach
• The pumping station would be located next to the Toukley Sewage Treatment Plant, rather than on or near the beach
• Tunnel boring machine technology would be used for pipeline construction, instead of traditional excavation and trenching through residential and public areas

These preferred options reflect a balanced approach that considers technical requirements while prioritising community, environmental and social outcomes.

Below: An indicative image of a pumping station. Note that this design is for a 150 ML/d pump station – 3 x 50 ML/d pumps with space provision for a fourth pump, whereas the one required for Toukley would only need to be 70 ML/day.

Submissions were accepted between 18 August and 8 September 2025, by either:

• online: submission form (survey now closed)
• email: engageme@centralcoast.nsw.gov.au or
• post: PO Box 20, Wyong NSW 2259.

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