Middle Area Desalination Plant Expansion – RO Al Basa (USAID Task Order AID-294-TO-16-00008)

  • Category
    Desalination plants
  • Client
    Palestinian Water Authority (PWA)
  • Supervisor
    AECOM
  • Funded By
    USAID
  • Region
    Deir Al Balah
  • From - To
    2016-12-19 - 2019-01-30
  • Value
    14,109,008.00$

Key facts

Capacity
3,400 m³/day expansion (plant from 2,600 to 6,000 m³/day)
Technology
Two-pass RO (SWRO + BWRO) with calcite remineralisation
Intake
Three new beach wells; 1,548 m DN450 HDPE intake line
Pre-treatment
Coagulation, in-pipe flocculation and pressure media filtration
Energy
Utility transformer, 1,150 kVA standby generator and solar PV system
Scope
Construction, supply, installation, testing and commissioning

Expansion of the Middle Area (Al Basa) seawater desalination plant in Deir Al Balah by 3,400 m³/day, from 2,600 to 6,000 m³/day, under USAID's Infrastructure Needs Program II for the Palestinian Water Authority. MACC built, supplied, installed and commissioned the works, with construction management by AECOM. Final acceptance was in January 2019.

Scope of work

  • Three new beach wells with submersible pumps, fencing, step-down transformer, MCCs and fibre-optic control cable
  • DN450 HDPE raw-water intake header (1,548 m) connecting three new and three existing wells
  • DN315 HDPE brine line (1,356 m) with diffusers; its final 85 m laid offshore by the float-and-sink method with rock scour protection
  • Concrete tanks: 100 m³ raw water, 220 m³ backwash and 250 m³ brine
  • Pre-treatment with low-pressure feed pumps and filter backwash; first- and second-pass RO with CIP and flushing
  • Post-treatment through calcite contactors and disinfection; chemical storage and dosing; finished-water pumping to the blending reservoir
  • Three pre-engineered metal buildings (RO building, pre-treatment building, generator canopy), electrical room and HVAC
  • Utility transformer, 1,150 kVA engine generator and PV electrical system
  • PLCs and SCADA; start-up, functional, performance and acceptance testing, and operator training

Technology and key components

  • Two-pass RO: first-pass SWRO with cartridge filters, high-pressure pumps (85.4 m³/h) and energy recovery; second-pass BWRO with break tank and feed pumps
  • Pre-treatment by coagulation, in-pipe flocculation and single-stage granular media pressure filters
  • Post-treatment of the combined permeate with calcite contactors, caustic soda and sodium hypochlorite
  • Pumps include beach-well pumps of 225 m³/h, three 125 m³/h treated-water pumps and two 410 m³/h brine discharge pumps
  • Siemens SCADA with 8,192 tags, 3,000 logging tags and 120 P&ID screens