Providing Emergency Desalination Plant in remote location.
Providing Emergency Desalination Plant in remote location.
Challenge
Broken Hill has relied on the Menindee Lakes as the town’s main water supply since the 1960’s. The Menindee Lakes is a chain of shallow ephemeral freshwater lakes connected to the Darling River to form a storage system.
In late 2015, due to the drought conditions in the Darling system the capacity of the lake system was close to empty.
This not only limits supply of water but also impact on the quality of water which deteriorates (salinity increases) due to the high evaporation rate. Under these conditions, Broken Hill’s Water Treatment Plant, designed to remove turbidity and organic matter using conventional filtration process, requires an upgrade with the reverse osmosis process to remove the excess salinity.
Therefore the requirement for an RO plant arose, which required completion in a very short time frame - 12 weeks, very careful installation and integration with the continuously operating upstream water filtration plant, along with numerous procedures and measures to comply with from the NSW Public Works who managed the overall project on behalf of Essential Water, the owner and operator of the Broken Hill WTP.
The new RO plant was required to be integrated with the existing water treatment facility on site - successful integration would require close management of the equipment interfaces.
With a 12 week time frame, the project was completed in a very short time frame to all required standards set out by the NSW Public Works.
Challenge
In the middle of 2022, Kiribati's Government declared a national emergency in response to an ongoing drought and depleting water reserves in the Betio township. To address this crisis, both New Zealand and Australia extended financial support for an emergency desalination unit aimed at supporting the water supply in South Tarawa.
Solution
The Government of Kiribati accepted Osmoflo’s brand new rental unit as an integral part of the Public Utilities Board's (PUB) South Tarawa drought response plan. Osmoflo emerged as the preferred partner and supplier for this initiative. Osmoflo's extensive experience in delivering fit for purpose desalination solutions of various scales made Osmoflo a valuable contributor to addressing events of this nature.
The Osmoflo Engineering team collaborated closely with the PUB CEO to guarantee the provision of a desalination plant that met the water demand in South Tarawa. They considered energy requirements, associated infrastructure, and pipeline networks to ensure the plant was suitable for its intended
purpose.
The installation and operation of the plant were achieved within 8 days of the Osmoflo team's arrival in Kiribati. The seamless collaboration with PUB, including local plumbers, electricians, and skilled labour, played
a crucial role in the efficiency of the installation and commissioning process. This teamwork
fundamentally eliminated any delays in providing potable water to the people of Kiribati.
Result
Osmoflo quickly provided a 200KLD plant, with upwards of 93% availability, along with a complete suite of water treatment services. While this project started out as a temporary solution, it has since become a permanent resource that has the potential to be deployed at other locations in need of aid due to water scarcity in the area.
Osmoflo also continues to provide 24/7 remote monitoring, scheduled servicing and training for local Kiribati utility technicians, all with the goal to provide a circular future for water for those in these remote areas.
Other solutions
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