Consolidated Water (Bahamas) Limited
WINDSOR FIELD
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Plant
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Capacity: Contract type:
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Customer: Commissioning
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This facility is located on the island of New Providence, near the Bahamian capital city of Nassau.
This desalination facility started production in December 1997 and produces 2.6 million US gallons per day for the Water and Sewerage Corporation of the Bahamas. The desalinated water produced by the facility is used in the public drinking water supply for the island.
The facility operates under a 15-year design, build, own and operate agreement with the Water and Sewerage Corporation. Until the completion of the Blue Hills plant in July, 2006, which is also located on the island of New Providence and operated by Consolidated Water, this facility was both the largest seawater reverse osmosis plant operated by the Company and the largest seawater reverse osmosis plant ever built in the Bahamas.
Prior to the commissioning of this facility, all the water used in the public drinking water system for the island came either from groundwater wells located on New Providence or groundwater barged to the island from Andros Island. As water demand in New Providence grew, these groundwater sources were over-taxed, degrading the overall quality of the water entering the public system.
As a result of this, the facility was designed with a full second pass membrane system, which means the desalinated water delivered to the Water and Sewerage Corporation contains less than 50 parts per million (ppm) of total dissolved solids. This allows the customer to blend the product water from the plant with the higher salinity ground water.
The cost of electricity on Caribbean Islands is typically 4 to 5 times greater than in the United States, and the island of New Providence is no exception. A critical factor in the design and operation of this plant is energy efficiency. To that end, the plant utilizes both the advanced Calder DWEERTM (Dual Work Exchanger Energy Recovery) system to recover energy from the high pressure brine stream and diesel engines to drive the main high pressure positive displacement pumps. This combination minimizes the amount of electricity that must be purchased to operate the plant.
The plant includes a stand-by diesel driven generator, which along with the diesel driven high pressure pumps, allows the plant to be fully functional even when the normal electrical service is down, as may occur during a hurricane. An advanced computer control system is used to monitor and control the plant 24 hours per day, 7 days a week. This reduces labor costs as the plant only needs to be manned during normal working hours.
The capital works also included the installation of a 6.0 million US gallon welded steel reservoir. Total reservoir storage capacity on site is 18.0 million US gallons.
