Presented at EuroMed 2006 conference on Desalination Strategies in South Mediterranean Countries: Cooperation between Mediterranean Countries of Europe and the Southern Rim of the Mediterranean. Sponsored by the European Desalination Society and the University of Montpellier II, Montpellier, France, 21–25 May 2006.

The technical, economic and environmental aspects of small-scale desalination units powered by renewable energies for remote areas have received considerable attention in recent years. However, social aspects of such units have often been neglected resulting in abandoned and dysfunctional systems. This paper considers the potential of the reverse osmosis solar installation (ROSI) to be integrated at a number of different sites in Central Australia. Performance is evaluated against attributes of social sustainability, such as the unit's capacity to meet community water needs (both quality and quantity), the human resources available to operate and maintain the unit and the community response to the unit. From this preliminary evaluation, a number of operation and management recommendations relating to membrane choice, recovery rate and maintenance provision are made to ensure the potential offered by ROSI is fulfilled in a socially sustainable manner. Areas requiring further research are also identified.