Water. Desalination + reuse
Issue link: https://fhpublishing.uberflip.com/i/513849
May-June 2015 | Desalination & Water Reuse | 39 | NORTH AMERICA REGIONS Launch of Teshie-Nungua desalination project postponed Ghana's government has postponed the commissioning of a seawater reverse osmosis plant at the town of Teshie-Nungua. The ministry of water resources has called for an investigation following reports from Ledzokuku-Krowor municipality residents that salty water was fowing from their taps. Tests have been running since early February and president John Dramani Mahama was expected to turn the valves in an opening ceremony in March to start pumping treated seawater to homes within the Teshie-Nungua catchment areas at 150 Ml/d. A new commissioning date, however, is yet to be made known. Florida reuse capacity soars Wastewater reuse capacity in Florida has grown 52% since 2000, reaching 6,600 Ml/d in 2014 placing the state at the forefront of US wastewater reuse adoption according to market analyst, Bluefeld Research. In its report Municipal wastewater reuse in Florida: market trends and emerging opportunities, Bluefeld said its analysis of more than 500 facilities and another 86 planned projects with a total value of more than US$ 6 billion indicated ample opportunities for water solutions providers looking to address the state's water challenges. The report covering 2008-2014 included: critical policies shaping the Florida wastewater reuse market including ocean outfall legislation compliance. Biwater starts up Virgin Islands desalination plant Deputy minister of water resources, Sampson Ahi, said the ministry has charged Ghana Water Company to probe into how the salty water found its way into the water supply lines. The Teshie-Nungua Desalination water project started in October 2012 on a build, own, operate and transfer contact to serve about 500,000 people in Teshie, Nungua, the Teshie military barracks, Baatsonaa, Sakumono and parts of La-Dadekotopon all in the Greater Accra region. Under the deal it will be managed for 25-years before being transferred to Ghana Water Company. Water technology company, Biwater, has started full commercial operation of its new 10,400 m³/day reverse osmosis seawater desalination plant on the island of Tortola in the British Virgin Islands. Biwater will operate the plant for 16 years under a build, own, operate and transfer deal with the Virgin Islands. Construction of the desalination plant and water storage facilities was funded using a US$ 43 million loan from Barclays. The deal included a water purchase agreement and Biwater has doubled the storage capacity to extend distribution to new areas of the island. The improvements help to meet Tortola's water treatment capacity requirements and address a government requirement to meet the growing demands of the Virgin Islands' tourist industry. The increased water production capacity will be used to supply cruise ships that dock in Tortola. The reverse osmosis plant uses a two-pass system, running at 45% conversion effciency. It incorporates four frst-pass trains and two second-pass trains and is designed to run at 100% capacity. Pre-treatment consists of two-stage media fltration followed by fve-micron cartridge fltration, to protect the system from foulants. For energy recovery, pressure exchangers with booster pumps will enhance the high-pressure feed supply to the frst stage reverse osmosis trains. Treated water mains total 3,330 metres, along steep terrain, with a total rise of 393 metres. They include two treated-water pumping stations. In 2015, Biwater is to complete two of its compact wastewater treatment plants on the island. California slant well test outstripping expectations State utility, California American Water (CalAm) has reported that its test slant well for a proposed Monterey Peninsula desalination project has outstripped its expected performance to a degree that suggested a smaller and cheaper production facility may be needed. According to a CalAm analysis of production and monitoring data, the well is pumping water faster than its 90,000 l a minute engineering design estimates. Production results are, CalAm reported, "as good or better than anticipated," and said the fnding "bodes well for the overall economics [of the desalination project]." The report indicated that were the current output sustained over time it would reduce the number of production wells needed in the fnal project and its cost. CalAm is to produce an analysis of production and monitoring operations ahead of its formal petition to the state water board seeking an extension on the 2017 deadline for attaining a cutback level on pumping from the Carmel River that will apply for four years. CalAm has argued that delays to the Monterey desalination project that have pushed its completion schedule beyond the deadline have been out of its control. The proposed desalination plant would reduce demand on water from the river. The test well operation includes a single slant well drawing brackish water from beneath the Monterey Bay ocean foor and a series of groups of monitoring wells. It is designed to assess the quality and quantity of the brackish water, as well as the impact on the Salinas Valley basin and wells surrounding the pumping site. Under an agreement between 16 parties with interests in the desalination project, a group of hydrogeologists has been set up to analyse the test data. The interested parties included the Salinas Valley Water Coalition and Monterey County Farm Bureau, who have expressed deep concern about the potential impact on the Salinas Valley basin as a result of Cal Am's long-range pumping plans.