Providing South Tarawa first drinking water distribution system.
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 Bonriki water lense. As such, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Green Climate Change Fund (GCCF), the World Bank and the Government of Kiribati (GoK) invited suitable companies to tender for the STWSP Desalination plant, to be known as ‘McKenzie’.
Solution
Osmoflo, along with our JV Partner CCV Envico were successful in this process and provided a 2.5MLD SWRO to the island of South Tarawa. With experience in delivering high quality water treatment solutions across the region, both companies were best placed to execute the project. Additionally, Osmoflo also provided support (via employment and local engagement) for the community during the construction period.
Osmoflo and its JV Partner CCV Envico delivered this plant through the ADB’s safeguard program, a reputable system guaranteeing the success and the longevity of the project.
Upon completion and commissioning of the project, Osmoflo continues to provide support for the
Mckenzie plant through its 24/7 remote monitoring control centre with full time operations over a 5 year span. This includes national workforce engagement and continual training through the Osmoflo operator excellence program, both in Australia and in the Pacific.
Result
Osmoflo’s reach in the pacific continues to grow with the commissioning of this McKenzie plant. As an ongoing education piece alongside STWSP donors, Osmoflo run school tours focusing on desalination and climate change to the young people of Kiribati.
The success of this project also allows for collaboration with organisations such as the Kiribati Institute of Technology (KIT), to upskill their electrical, mechanical and engineering certification courses, which can be recognized in APAC.
Other solutions
