Consolidated Water (Belize) Limited
Ambergris CAYE
|
Plant
type: Location: |
Capacity: Contract
type: |
Customer: Commissioning
date: |
Ambergris Caye, one of Belize’s barrier reef islands, is the largest and fastest growing tourist destination in Belize, and is a vital source of foreign currency reserve for the country.
Over 30% of Belize’s land area is designated as protected environment, and the country has an extensive marine park system. Consolidated Water is keenly aware of the importance that the environment plays to the Belizean economy and is pleased that the people of Belize have chosen seawater reverse osmosis as an eco-friendly and energy efficient way to supply vital fresh water to Ambergris Caye.
Originally constructed in 1996 by SeaTec, Inc., this facility was purchased by Consolidated Water in 2000. In September 2003, Consolidated Water signed a 23-year exclusive water supply agreement for the island of Ambergris Caye with its customer Belize Water Services Limited, the government owned agency responsible for the water supply in Belize.
In addition to guaranteeing the quality of the water delivered to the customer from the facility, this long-term contract also guarantees the amount of energy that is required to operate the entire facility. This is a very important consideration given that electricity costs in Belize are approximately 4 to 5 times higher than in the United States. The contract also ensures that the capacity of the plant will keep pace with the growing demands of Ambergris Caye and that a sufficient supply of high quality drinking water will not be a factor limiting growth of the island.
The combination of diesel driven high pressure pumps, and a diesel generator, means the plant can be fully functional when public power is not available, as can happen after a hurricane.
The raw seawater for the plant is obtained from wells located on site, avoiding the need for expensive pre-treatment equipment and chemicals associated with open sea intakes. Reject water from the plant is disposed of via deep wells, also located on site. The plant utilizes diesel engines to drive the main high pressure pumps and hydraulic turbochargers to recover energy from the high pressure brine stream.
Consolidated Water is also responsible for chlorine disinfection of the final product and reservoir storage.
