Remote Australian Town to Treat Salty Dregs After Drought, Running Out of Water

摘要

The Australian mining town of Broken Hill is preparing for a future that doesn't depend on silver and zinc, but there is one resource it won't be able to live without: water. The prospect of that commodity running out has sparked concern in the remote community more than 1,110 kilometers (680 miles) west of Sydney. The city of 19,000 people exhausted its supply of water that can be treated conventionally, forcing it this month to turn on a desalination plant to process the salty remains. Water flowing into the Menindee Lakes, the city's key source, is at a record low amid an El Nino-induced drought.