The economic and demographic development observed in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, coupled with the rising demand for drinking water and the disparity between consumption and available resources, prompted the Ministry of the Environment to establish the Water Desalination Station in 2001. This initiative received 85% funding from the EU Cohesion Fund.
Facilities of the Santa Cruz de Tenerife desalination plant. | ED
The facility, occupying a 16,000 square metre plot in Cueva Bermeja, situated between the Este and Pesquera docks of the Port of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, has a production capacity of 21,000 cubic metres per day. It features three reverse osmosis lines along with four pumping units that transport the desalinated and remineralised water to various regulatory tanks within the municipality, where Emmasa implements a comprehensive maintenance programme that utilises cutting-edge technology.
Water in Santa Cruz: the desalination plant (IX)
Two decades later, expansion works undertaken by Santa Cruz City Council and the Mixed Water Company have integrated the latest technological advances available, enhancing its production capacity to 28,800 cubic metres per day.
These technological enhancements allow for increased energy efficiency, resulting in a reduction of carbon dioxide emissions by 2 million kilograms annually. Additionally, the conversion rate has improved, decreasing the amount of seawater required to produce the same quantity of drinking water by 7,300 cubic metres per day. To augment this production, eight additional wells will be added to the existing 14 seawater collection wells.
Operation
The seawater is sourced from wells at a depth of 36 metres, which are fitted with submersible pumps to extract the water and transfer it for filtration. Before reaching the membranes, the seawater undergoes treatment through twelve sand bed filters with a granulometry of 1.5 mm, removing possible impurities, alongside additional polypropylene filters comprising 200 40-inch filter cartridges with a filtration capacity of 5 microns.
The water then proceeds to three reverse osmosis modules, powered by three high-pressure pumping systems. Each module is composed of 120 tubes containing six membranes, each capable of producing 9,600 cubic metres of desalinated water daily. Furthermore, they incorporate energy recovery systems for optimised energy use.
Post desalination, to ensure that the water meets the requisite standards for human consumption, 40 chlorination facilities within the municipality are treated daily with sodium hypochlorite, followed by the blending of this with carbon dioxide-enriched water. All operations are monitored remotely from the Emmasa headquarters, ensuring real-time communication of any incidents. The resulting water is stored in a fortified concrete tank with a capacity of 2,000 cubic metres, from which it is distributed to 38 regulatory tanks throughout the municipality, capable of holding a total of 204,000 cubic metres, via six transport systems.
Production and distribution
To provide water to the residents of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Emmasa sources its supplies from its own resources as well as acquiring water from private suppliers.
From the Desalination Plant, 17,600 cubic metres of water are dispatched daily to the Fumero tank, situated on the slopes of the Leña ravine. From here, it is channelled to the tanks in Salamanca, Plaza de Toros, Las Mesetas, Port Authority, and other locations for distribution to residential users via a network of pipes stretching 1,000 kilometres, featuring 10 pumping stations. To ensure compliance with health regulations, the water undergoes rigorous cleaning, maintenance, and disinfection protocols throughout the entire process.
Subscribe to continue reading
