Utility, Jersey Water, has contracted international water and wastewater treatment firm, ACWA Services, to carry a out a £6 million (US$ 9 million) upgrade of the Channel Island’s La Rosière desalination plant in a bid to cut operating costs and meet rising demand.
When finished, the plant’s capacity is expected to increase from 6,000 m³/day up to 10,800 m³/day, with a potential to expand the site to 15,000 m³/day.
The contract covers design and procurement through to installation and commissioning, in an expansion of the existing seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) facility. The upgrade will include new pressure vessels, modern reverse osmosis membranes, new pre-treatment systems and an energy recovery system.
The energy recovery system is expected to reduce the plant’s energy demand by 36% by recovering pressure from the reject brine stream. ACWA said the energy recovery system will enable the plant operator to vary the reverse osmosis recovery rate to optimize energy efficiency over a range of feed waters.
Chief executive at Jersey Water, Helier Smith, said: “ACWA’s solution will increase capacity and resilience for the Island’s public water supply in times of low rainfall and built-in energy recovery will ensure that running costs are lower when the plant is online.”