1

REPORT

CONSTRUCTION OF A SMALL DESALINATION PLANT AT GALLE SRI LANKA AS

A FIRST STEP TOWARDS TACKLING AN IMPENDING DRINKING WATER CRISIS

ABSTRACT

This report discusses the possibility of constructing a desalination or desalinization plant at Galle

as a prototype for a larger project. The construction process involves a number of phases such as

design, work-on-site, fabrication of components, installation of the components and finally the

commissioning of the plant. Some assumptions too will be made to accommodate seemingly

difficult concepts involved in the process. Design stage of the plant is based on the conceptual

framework for the plant to be treated as a prototype thus incorporating as much local design

features as possible. Site work is determined by the topography of the seabed on and around the

plant location. However the location would not be subject to year-round alluvial surges or erratic

tidal currents. The component fabrication process would involve the usual description of material

but not the strength determination tests and analyses. Installation process perhaps occupies a

preeminent position for the sole reason that transportation of components which have been cast

and fabricated somewhere else would involve considerable efforts. Transportation of

components would be treated as an integral part of the installation process. The commissioning

stage is rather ceremonial in nature with little engineering work needed if at all. The process of

desalination ought to be treated with much more care and as such would be the most important

outcome of the project report. The emphasis would be on the outcomes directly related to the

practical significance of the project.

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1. Introduction

This paper on the construction of a small desalination plant proposes to examine the

manufacturing process and setting up of a desalination plant. The construction of a small

desalination plant at Galle would involve seven major phases of work – site layout design,

detailed mechanical component design, site work, fabrication of components, installation,

commissioning and documentation for approval. The report would examine in detail the

construction aspects such as the site layout design, mechanical component design, site

preparation work, manufacturing of components, installation and commissioning. Thus the non-

engineering aspect of documentation would be left out.

Time and again a variety of consultation reports have been produced by engineering consultants

in Sri Lanka on the need to construct desalination plants to purify and convert the abundant sea

water surrounding Sri Lanka into drinking or potable water. A variety of prototypes also have

been suggested though none has been implemented. Even the few environment friendly

prototypes of desalination plants that have received serious consideration by the World Bank and

the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have been shelved due to disagreement at the funding

level.

Thus this report looks at the feasibility of designing and constructing a small desalination plant

as the first step towards fuller implementation of a program that would be comprehensive enough

to include a national level project of constructing mega desalination plants. This report identifies

and addresses such practical issues as the structural engineering aspects in designing and

constructing the plant and the feasibility of adopting the kind of design and construction

approach with specific focus on the cost related economies of scale.

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2. Objectives of the Report

 To design and construct the prototype of a small desalination plant.

 To study the feasibility of designing and construction of such a desalination plant as first

approach to a mega project.

 To study the feasibility of converting abundant sea water around Sri Lanka into potable

water.

 To Study the significance of such a project for the design and construction of national

level desalination projects, concerning costs.

 To make relevant recommendations for the adoption of such engineering technologies.

3. Scope of the Project Report

The scope of the report and the project thereof is very significant and involves a series of

important and relevant issues. Scarcity of potable or drinking water is becoming a national issue

and it requires the attention of engineering community at the highest level. Since Sri Lanka has

abundant sea water resources the problem has attracted additional interest. In fact another very

important issue is the cost factor. The construction cost matters and thus the engineering

perspective acquires a very important dimension here. The report would be considered as a first

step towards future developments on similar lines since it has the original footprint of being the

first to consider engineering and cost related aspects of desalination. This can also be regarded as

a pioneering effort to identify and address the more important issues of approach to and adoption

of desalination engineering technologies in Sri Lanka.

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Analysis

Drinking water technology is still in its infancy despite major strides made by some countries in

the Middle East in converting sea water into potable water at a fairly lower cost. Integrated water

treatment and purification solutions are being marketed by new technology firms on an ever

increasing scale in the world today. Against this backdrop designing and fabricating a

desalination plant could be considered a major step in the direction of technology improvement

in a country like Sri Lanka where almost 100 per cent of potable water comes from rain-filled

reservoirs, rivers and waterfalls. This is all the more significant when the future forecasts for

steeply rising costs on water purification and receding water beds are taken into consideration.

Once completed the maximum capacity of the plant is expected to be 1 million gallons per day

and would be functioning throughout the year except for occasional maintenance and repair shut-

downs. The project would include the seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) plant, a sea water

intake facility, a system for discharging concentrate and the facilities and systems for chemical

storage and dosing. There would be efforts to 3D model the chemical dosing systems so that the

exact outcomes of chemical dosing could be known in advance by plant administrators.

Desalination Plant Design Parameters

The pretreatment facility will be located closer to the sea water intake. Water is pumped from the

intake to the pretreatment facility. The subsequent inflow would pass through a two stage sand

filter. Here dosing the water can be done in order to adjust the level of salinity or pH in

accordance with requirements. The SWRO would involve 7 unconnected flows each of which in

turn will have a pump to transfer water, membranes, cartridge filters, a turbine for energy

recovery and a high pressure pump. The following diagram, Figure 1, illustrates the pretreatment
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process and is in conformance with the established civil engineering practice in designing the

parameters of the process. Osmosis is a natural phenomenon found in biological systems. The

membranous process inhibits the movement of sediments like salt thus leaving the water devoid

of any solid substance. Movement does not take place without pressure. Thus the pressure

requires energy to be used. Fossil fuel can be expensive but nevertheless in a country like Sri

Lanka any other form of energy might be undesirable.

Figure 1: Desalination Plant – Reverse Osmosis Model Input canal

Big Bend
Roughing
Polishin Power Station
Cartridge Filters Filters
g Filters

Filter backwash

Solids Output canal

First pass

Storage

Second Pass

Energy Recovery

Concentrate return

Source: www.watertechnology.net

The design parameters are expected here to give an idea of what the plant should be like and its

full operational specifications are not intended for extensive description in this analysis. While
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many previous studies on the subject of desalination of seawater in Sri Lanka discussed the

inevitable outcomes related to the process only a few of them have focused attention on the

design related constraints faced by civil engineering consultants at the initial stages. For example

as the above diagram shows there are the reverse osmosis membranes which have to be fed with

pressurized water from a 1,250hp and a split case horizontal high pressure pump that is equipped

with adjustable frequency drives. Assuming that the variable frequency drives which permit the

feed pressure to be adjusted between 625psi and 1,050psi cause variations to be higher and

frequent, the variations in the salinity level might be affected though. Such fluctuations are to be

controlled with pressure dynamics control.

Reverse Osmosis and Desalination Plants

Desalination plants with the application of reverse osmosis require to be placed under

constant supervision for the sole reason that they are installed and operated closer to the shore.

Since the osmosis filtration is basically a membranous technique the larger solids, molecules and

ions are easily removed from the seawater thus facilitating the filtration process. Structural

design of the process apart, the usual osmotic process ought to be designed to facilitate the

osmotic pressure. For instance when water potential is low the solute concentration is high and

vice versa. Thus any water movement intended to equalize the concentrations of solvents on

either side of a membrane would lead to osmotic pressure. In the reverse osmosis an external

source is introduced to apply pressure thus reversing the flow of the purified solvent. Though

there are some differences between filtration technique and reverse osmosis this report does not

concentrate on them for they are not important here. But nevertheless this report places emphasis

on reverse osmosis for it is mostly adopted by designers of desalination plants that are intended

to convert seawater for drinking.

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The following Table 1 shows the parameters of seawater quality in reverse osmosis process.

With a recovery rate of 45% and an operating pressure equal to 900 psi, the estimates therein

provide a concise but clear picture of the outcomes directly related to the seawater. Seawater

parts per million (ppm), concentrate ppm and permeate ppm are presented in the table.

Table 1: Water Quality Composition of Seawater Reverse Osmosis

Chemical Seawater Concentrate Permeate

Sodium 10,967 19,888 64

Potassium 406 736 3

Magnesium 1,306 2,372 2

Calcium 419 761 0,5

Bicarbonate 109 194 0.9

Chloride 18,682 35,771 105

Sulfate 2,759 5,014 1.5

TDS 35,666 64,771 176

pH 7.8 7.7 6.1

Source: www.watertreatmentguide.com
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Table 2: Operating Costs of Desalination

Per Cubic Meter of Permeate (US$)

Power at 10/KWH $0.33

Membrane(3year life) $0.05

Chemicals $0.05

Miscellaneous $0.03

Total $0.46/Cubic Meter

Source: www.watertreatmentguide.com

The following four items are not included in the cost estimates. But they are included in Table 4

below.

Intake water cost, concentration discharge cost, amortization of equipment cost, and the cost of

labor to monitor and maintain are thus not included here. However it must be noted here these

costs are discussed separately below in a comprehensive analysis. It must also be noted that these

costs need not be classified as they are usually done in accounting. Operating or running costs

are not included in the construction costs but nevertheless they are equally important for they

have to be incurred by the authorities for the continuous and successful operation of the plant.

While some costs are incurred on a continuous basis others are just on-and-off. Therefore each
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cost involves some prior estimate and planning though the extent to which it has to be carried out

is not within the scope of this report.

Figure 2: Desalination Plant – Multistage Distillation Model

Primary Heater

Heat Input-Waste Heat

Solar Heat or
Fossil Fuel Heating

Diffusion Tower Condenser

Regenerative Heaters

Main Feed Pump

Cooling Water Circulating Pump

Brine Pump Fresh Water Supply
Forced Air Inlet

Condensate Pump

Salt Water Source

Source: U.S. Department of Labor,Occupational Safety & Health Administration

.

Source: http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.netl.doe.gov

The above diagram Figure 2, illustrates a Multistage Distillation Model. Even Distillation

Models are so famous in the world today. Thus this report recommends such a Model for Sri

Lanka. As the Figure 2 illustrates a small desalination plant can be represented by the prototype

and it can be convincingly used to plan the entire project from the time of design to the

commissioning stage. However this is the desalination plant and the ground work and

preparation have to be carried out separately to accomplish the task.

Starting from the salt water source, e.g. the sea, the water moves through the regenerative

heaters. This type of cogeneration desalination plant is capable of using either nuclear energy or
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other source of energy to convert the sea water into fresh potable water. In other words heat can

be generated in the plant itself. Next, when sea water is heated the steam will collect in the

condenser. Then the distillation process is used to collect the vapor on the top of the condenser

and the unevaporated water would be collected at the bottom of the diffusion tower in the form

of brine. The brine would next be pumped through the regenerative heater (Robert et al, 2000).

At the bottom of the condenser fresh liquid water is collected in the form of condensed vapor.

The condenser can be cooled by drawing water from the sea and circulating it through a

circulating pump so that the potable water can be cooled before it is pumped out for

consumption. The process can be simplified by using fossil energy. Fossil fuel is not expensive

though it can be clumsy (http://dhtw.tce.rmit.edu.au).

Figure 3: Distillation Process

Heating Steam

T=112c

Condensate return Distillate

Source: www.wtertechnology.net
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As the above diagram, Figure 3, illustrates how the process of distillation is carried out by using

the prefabricated multistage distillation process. However it must be noted that one technology

cannot be said to be all too superior because each technology or process has its own advantages

and disadvantages. This model is presented as an alternative but is not explained in detail.

Fabrication of Components

It must be noted that equipment used for the removal of solids like salts from seawater can vary

significantly under each process or model. However one common factor stands out in all

methods, viz. according to the pressure requirement the laws of physics would dictate that each

100 mg/l of solid in seawater would need a driving force of 1 psi. It is not a secret that seawater

anywhere in the world has roughly 35,000 mg/l of solids in it. Thus as per the above rule of

thumb the minimum pressure required is 350 psi. On the other hand membranous reverse

osmosis can be applied usually when the solids dissolved in seawater are around 6,000 mg/l ore

even less. Thus the pressure requirement is 60 psi.

The current trend is to go for hybrid configurations of the desalination equipment. The water

treatment process related equipment need not be divided into seawater units and reverse osmosis

units any more. They can be combined to produce a desirable level of drinking water output on a

surface plant. However differences in pressure requirements for the conversion purposes must be

paid attention in order to minimize mishaps. After all, equipment has to be fabricated in

conformance with the configurations.

Installation of Components

The process of installing components must be taken as the next most important step in the whole

process. Under this process it is desirable to identify the nature of components that in this
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instance are basically Multistage Distillation Model related. Thus all structural, mechanical, filter

and pipe work will have to be executed with greater focus on the material being utilized. The

following components will have to be installed in using a pressure exchanger in the reverse

osmosis process. They are shown on the Figure 4 below.

Figure 4: Reverse Osmosis Process

2
1
C
4

5
D

Source: www.watertechnology.net

1. Seawater inflow 2. Fresh water flow 3. Concentrate flow 4. Seawater flow and 5. Concentrate

A. High pressure pump flow B. Circulation pump, C. Osmosis unit with membrane,

D. Pressure exchanger
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Project Execution

The seven tasks as outlined above can be executed according to a plan. However it must be noted

that these seven phases need not follow a logical sequence. Some of the tasks can be performed

simultaneously as demonstrated by the network diagram. Such overlapping tasks would enable

the project leader to reduce the amount of time spent on individual tasks (Danoun, 2007).

Next each individual task would require a particular accompanying quality management

task to be performed. Therefore the whole process would involve a set of tasks just before the

actual commissioning, a set of tasks during the component fabrication process and finally a set of

tasks just after commissioning. The relative significance of each set would in turn determine the

relocation outcomes. The process of task management would be decisive in the final context

because the outcomes are related to the final success or failure of the construction process. While

some tasks might have a better rate of success some others might not be so successful. However

in the final analysis successful construction of the desalination plant is determined by a number

of endogenous and exogenous variables that have to be predicted and managed within

controllable limits (Lindgren & Bandhold, 2009)

Diverse skills of team members are to be utilized in their respective areas of specialty

thus leading to all benefits associated with the clear division of labor. The project plan has been

initiated with clearly defined targets and phases of activity that were put through the whole

process with well balanced steps. Team leadership was particularly impressive in establishing a

close rapport with team members whose contribution was measured in relation to a set of

motivation factors. Though some positive synergies were recorded through this process, there

were some shortcomings as well. For instance being mobile from one place to the other during
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the week would entail a lot of time waste in sending multiple e-mails and a rise in costs

(Wahlquist, 2008).

Network Diagram

Figure 5 represents the network diagram for the task of constructing and commissioning the

small desalination plant. The following assumptions have been made in this regard to simplify

the process of calculations and the critical path.

 Though the actual project would more likely take approximately 37 months to finish, this

writer assumes that it would take no more than 88 days. This is intended to simplify the

calculations.

 The critical path is calculated on the assumption that the total project can be

accomplished in 53 days (i.e. the critical path).

 Some tasks can be performed simultaneously subject to the resource constraints.

 Each month has 30 days on average and each week has five working days.

 Intervening holidays are assumed to be zero.

The activity duration estimating process requires that the amount of work effort required to

complete the schedule of activities is appropriately estimated; the assumed amount of resources

to be applied to complete the schedule of activities is estimated; and the number of work periods

needed to complete the schedule of activities is determined. According to the diagram Task B’s
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Earliest Starting Time, i.e. EST is projected to be 4 days and Latest Finishing Time, i.e. LFT is

projected to be 9 days. To complete the activity A 4 days are required and EST is projected to be

4 days because activity B cannot be started until activity A is finished. Also LFT is projected to

be 9 days basically because activity B requires 9 days to complete. Under actual circumstances

the designing can be carried out simultaneously with land surveying.

Total float is the total amount of time that a schedule of activities may be delayed from its

early start date without delaying the project finish date, or violating a schedule constraint.

Otherwise it is the amount of delay that can be accommodated in an activity's finish time without

affecting the project completion date. These delays are known as the total float, and project

management team must always keep this number in mind to ensure that the project will be

finished on time. According to the above hypothetical example the total float is calculated to be

88 days.
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Figure 5: Network diagram for the process of constructing the desalination plant

10
C 4
9
9
1 9 I 47 J 51
99
51 61
4 5 10 6
D 19
10 8 4 4
A 28 H 46 K 61
B 4
10 47
67
9 E 28 1 1
1
8
36
10 6 L 67 M 68
G 42
10 F 36 68 70
46
42 2 6

4
N 70

76
8

R 87 Q 86 P 84 O 76

88 87 86 84

1 1 2

The project duration, more specifically, represents the total and complete sum total of work

periods that is required to complete a particular schedule of activities or specific component of

the work breakdown structure. A critical path for a project is the series of activities that

determines the earliest time by which the project can be completed. The critical path through a

project schedule is the sequence of tasks which have a zero float. Thus, if any task on the critical

path finishes late, then the whole project will also finish late. There is always at least one critical
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path. According to the above network diagram critical path can be identified as A, B, F, G, H, J,

K, M, N, O, P, Q, R and the total number of days is 53. According to the network diagram, the

project required 37 months to complete with assuming that there are 30 days a month despite the

holidays.

(a). If Task P were delayed by 1 day it will require 2 days to start Task Q. Then the

total number of days will be 89 days.

(b). If Task N were completed 1 day before the schedule it would take 7 days to finish

Task N. Thus it will take 87 days finish the total project.

(c). If Task A were delayed by 2 days, it would take 12 days to complete Task A and the total

number of days would increase up to 90 days to complete the project.

A network diagram is essentially a diagram that is used in quality management whenever

scheduling an activity. However, this diagram does need to be drawn in a rather specific manner

in order to be understood by those who are in quality management. It will show just how the

project management team should position the project and how long the schedule of tasks should

take, from the very beginning to the very end of the project (Fishman, 2011). A specific project

might consist of several network diagrams such as project network and project evaluation and review

technique (PERT).
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Activities and Duration Phase Cos

Tasks t
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Design stage 3 months $0.6
1 US$ US$ US$ M

0.1 0.3 0.2

Design stage 6 Months $0.9
2 US$ US$ US$ US$ US$ US$ M

0.05 0.2 0.4 0.1 0.05 0.1

Site works 9 months US$ US$ US$ US$ US$ US$ US$ US$ US$ $2.4
M
0.2 0.05 0.00 1.0 0.02 0.5 0.05 0.25 0.32
2 5 3
Supply of 9 months US$ US$ US$ US$ US$ US$ US$ US$ US$ $6.2
mechanical M
components 1.5 0.00 0.25 2.3 0.03 0.8 1.27 0.00 0.04
7 3
Installation 3 months US$ US$ US$ $0.5
of M
mechanical 0.01 0.25 0.24
components

Commissioni 1 month US$ $0.4

ng M
0.4
Approvals 6 months US$ US$ US$ US$ US$ US$ $0.2
for M
commenceme 0.05 0.04 0.02 0.03 0.05 0.01
nt of site
work

Table 4: Gantt Chart of Costs

Source: Writer’s own

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This project management experience has, particularly, been focused on the significance of team

work and its benefits to the client. Quality management constraints basically occur in respect of

complex technical details that have to be managed in conformance with original guidelines.

While project success is determined by how best the team is able to perform its assigned tasks,

its learning outcomes are individually and collectively determined by a diverse and complex set

of variables (Portny, 2010). For instance a reverse osmosis desalination plant would require the

team of workers to focus on the time schedule while at the same time they would be required to

identify the most feasible tasks first.

In the first instance the success of this particular project of constructing the

desalination plant depends on team management efforts including clearly defined goals and

successful coordination. Once the cost parameters are known the management of the

construction plan can put in place the priorities so that work teams consisting of engineers,

technical personnel and others would be prepared to achieve the set targets. This particular

aspect of the project of constructing a desalination plant becomes all the more important due to

the fact that any delay in a task could affect the whole project with the attendant problem of cost

overruns that would jeopardize the whole project in turn.

As an essential condition for the smooth flow of work on the site supplier networks must be

strategically positioned. Both men and material supplier networks ought to have credentials

beyond doubt in order to ensure that quality related problems do not arise. Deficiencies in

material and inefficient teams of workers could mean both delays and lower standards, thus

leading to rescheduling or even abandonment of the project. Strategic project management

aspects are therefore emphasized thought it is beyond the scope of this report to present a

detailed analysis of such strategies here (Kerzner, 2009).

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Performance-centric approach of the team leader and the team members would enable the

identification of associated bottlenecks in the operational environment. Teamwork acts as a

positive influence on creativity, productive synergies, independent and collective decision

making, strategic concept development and organizational culture and leadership. These positive

changes have to be introduced in good measure during the duration of the project and the

subsequent learning outcomes would determine the success parameters of each task according to

the guidelines

Cost Estimates

Table 1 illustrates the Gantt chart of the desalination plant. The total project is divided into 7

phases and the each phase has its set of resources, cost estimate, start date, finish date and the

duration. For example design phase comes first. It is handled by the internal design team; cost

estimate is put at $ 0.6 million; the start date is March, 1 st 2011; finish date is May, 31st 2011;

and the duration is 87 days. These figures are tentative in nature. The subsequent phases are

made out to represent the total project on the same basis of approximation and hypothesis.

While the existing technically feasible cost structures would even entail implied costs associated

with projected tasks, there would still be a marginal error in estimation notwithstanding the

resultant benefits-related outcomes. Thus cost minimization efforts are not necessarily influenced

by implied costs but by the amount of tangible benefits. This report would squarely analyze such

benefits in order to delineate a hypothetical but approximate cost-benefit scenario for the

construction of the plant. Thus the subsequent estimation would take into account the relative

significance of cost structures that are the results of the planned construction.
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Table 4: HR & Material implementation cost plan

Item Category Number Cost per month

HR Engineers 20 $ 20 000

Managers 3 $ 4 500
Skilled Labor 25 $ 125 000
Unskilled Labor 20 $ 5 000
Others 20 $ 4 000
Machinery Machinery 10 units $ 650 000

Materials Steel 1000 mt $1 200 000

Chemicals 800 l $ 280 000
Employees uniform 2000 m $ 24 000
materials
Other costs including $ 5 000
disinfection

Source: Writer’s own

Such cost structures as immediate and prime arising from the location outcomes would be

determined according to their importance in this analysis. Should such structures be correlated

with construction outcomes then the subsequent decision making on the part of the management

would be determined by the positive or/and negative results presented at the end of this report by

way of a conclusion and results.

The above hypothetical cost structures were developed by this writer in conformance with the

current level of work. These structures are associated with the probable construction cost

estimates determined as at a near future date and are expressed in US Dollars. The relative
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significance of these structures and estimates lie in the fact that they invariably impact on the

overall outcomes of construction of the plant. Therefore these costs must be regarded as near

approximations in order to produce an unbiased report with reliably significant intelligence

content. The hypothetical nature of figures would not reduce the degree of analytical rigor by one

iota because the conceptual framework applied in this context is significantly influenced by an

authentic approach (Anderson et al, 2011).

BOOT or DBOOT Alternative

There is an alternative method for the construction of a desalination plant of considerable size

and scope at Galle by using the Build, Own, Operate and Transfer (BOOT) or Design, Build,

Own, Operate and Transfer (DBOOT) approach. For example the biggest seawater desalination

plant in South Asia is located in Chennai, India with a capacity for 100 million liters per day.

The Minjur desalination plant produces 1,000 liters of water at an average cost of US$ 0.90.

When converted into Sri Lankan Rupees it is around Rs.115.00 per 1,000 liters.

In fact the Minjur desalination plant was to be commissioned in 2008 but due to the roughness of

the sea near Chennai the builders and Chennai Metro Water were forced to delay it till July 2010.

However, the sea near Galle does not pose such a problem to the authorities. Thus a similar

approach can be adopted by Sri Lankan authorities in order to avoid a once-and-all cost outlay.

Projects like desalination plants are more feasibly carried out on the basis of BOOT elsewhere

too.

In the case of Minjur Plant the builder would own and operate the plant for 25 years and then

transfer the ownership to the Chennai Metro Water (www.water-technology.net). Such a BOOT

based approach would benefit both the government of Sri Lanka and the consumers of water by
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way of reduced budgetary burdens on the former and reduced cost per unit of fresh water

consumed for the latter respectively. These suggestions are intended to facilitate the decision

making process of authorities against the backdrop of shortages of funds and above all the ever

increasing costs of men and material. However it must be noted that a desalination plant with a

capacity of 100 million liters per day is too big for Galle. After all Chennai with extended

boundaries has 8,000 square kilometers in area.

OneSteel, a steel manufacturer in Whyalla, South Australia, recently commissioned a seawater

reverse osmosis desalination plant with the capacity of 4,000 m³ per day. One of the most

remarkable features of the project is the fact that it has adopted highly advanced technology to

save energy in addition to installing monitoring and control equipment with remote capacity.

Again it was on DBOOT basis and OneSteel is a private company. This example shows the

extent of possibilities in the area of technology related projects. Such possibilities are basically

about funding options and partnerships (Lewis, 2006).

Technology transferring under BOOT or DBOOT is of great importance for the sole reason that

it enables the contracting parties to benefit from the given arrangement. For instance the

contractor or the builder gains a lot of experience in the process while the client does need to

spend a huge sum of money on or commit scarce funds to development. Always benefits might

not outweigh costs though. Assuming that the contractor delays or abandons the project due to

cost escalation the outcome would be disastrous to the client. Similarly if the cost overruns are

persistent and unmanageable the contractor might be compelled to redesign and scale down the

project.
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Finally cost per unit of desalinated water consumed can be much higher than a unit of fresh

water provided through conventional means. This possibility is the biggest problem faced by

authorities in cities where operations become more expensive on a day to day basis due to the

scarcity of skilled labor to run the plant. Still such uncertainties should not deter authorities

whose primary responsibility is to ensure a continuous and dependable supply source for the

dwellers of the city.

Process of Disinfection

The process of treating the purified water through reverse osmosis before the distribution for

final drinking by people involves some important tasks. Though reverse osmosis effectively

inhibits the survival of pathogens in the water, there must be a secondary treatment process to

ensure that the water distributed for human consumption is free of all bacterial pathogens. For

instance all membranes cannot be equally efficient. Some could malfunction and further

downstream pipes and backwash would have let in some pathogens. In order to do this,

authorities must adopt a cost effective disinfection method. However, yet again such a method

should not be unnecessarily expensive though.

Some desalination plants around the world adopt UV technique in which UV lamps are used to

kill off pathogens. Such sterilization techniques will kill off germs and bacteria which have

survived the reverse osmosis process. Ultraviolet disinfection systems might ensure the quality

of water that finally people drink. Despite the fact that disinfection costs might substantially

increase the final operation costs of the project the possibility of reducing costs with efficient

membranes and backwash can be a reality one day. Such outcomes depend on quality
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improvement measures (Kerzner, 2005). Future quality improvement procedures need to be

ascertained so as to produce positive outcomes with minimal costs.

Commissioning the Desalination Plant

The final stage of commissioning the desalination plant involves a series of sub-tasks though

they are not a matter of concern for the civil engineering consultant. The commissioning of the

desalination plant is a formality and is executed with more fanfare and pageantry with

government officials and politicians attending the function. However it must be noted that with

the commissioning comes the additional responsibility for the operating authority, i.e. either the

Galle Municipality or any government agency to ensure the continuous operations of the plant.

Any breakdown in its operations can be a huge loss, especially by way of maintenance costs that

have to be incurred despite the shut down.

All formalities related to the operations and operability are executed under this process. The

plant operations staff are assigned tasks and put on rotation. Various quantities of chemicals

needed for the reverse osmosis desalination process are determined with the given capacity for

generation. Further the commissioning phase of the project determines the extent of staff

requirements to be available for the day-to-day running. Thus the commissioning phase is very

significant for some other reasons as well. If the project is one under BOOT or DBOOT there is

the probability of the contractor or builder identifying a variety of concurrent obligations for both

the contractor and the client.

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The client would be required to monitor the progress from the day of commissioning so that the

pace of work is measured in accordance with the accepted norms. Any deviation from the norms

such as frequent breakdowns and other internal interruptions can be regarded as a sign of poor

design and failure. When technology fails costs are bound to increase. This in turn is followed by

political pressure to set right or abandon the project.

Conclusion

This report specifically discusses the feasibility of building a small desalination plant with the

capacity of 1 million gallons of fresh water per day at Galle in Sri Lanka. It is more or less a

project involving the construction of the prototype of a desalination plant. The prototype of a

small desalination plant describes the project specifications including the project size, nature and

the process. Thus it is to be treated as a probable solution to the impending water crisis in the

island, especially in the southern districts. The report presents two models – the Reverse Osmosis

Model and the Multistage Distillation Model. Indeed it must be noted that hybrid models have

been gaining traction as of late.

This report is basically focused on the seawater reverse osmosis desalination plants. This method

is more suitable for a country like Sri Lanka given the huge seawater sources that surround it.

While the technological aspects are more centered on the plant design and component

manufacturing phases of the report, there is added emphasis on the outcomes such as costs and

quality improvement. The technical aspects of the SWRO desalination are basically determined

by the particular membranous approach in this instance.

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The cost tables are intended to provide the approximate cost structures and the total project plan

is intended to provide an idea about how the project would proceed in theoretical outline. The

rest of the explanation is based on the reverse osmosis model with added emphasis on

membranous technology. The seawater reverse osmosis desalination plants have been

constructed by a number of countries such as Australia, the US and Israel with a view to

providing fresh potable water to city dwellers under different circumstances. Such efforts are

based on a single premise that in addition to being a dependable source of drinking water it is

also a cheaper alternative to on-land rain filled reservoirs as a source of supply. The report makes

some pertinent suggestions on the need to adopt BOOT or DBOOT method as a solution to the

government’s inability to fund such projects.

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REFERENCES

Anderson, D. R. et al, (2011). An Introduction to Management Science: Quantitative

Approaches to Decision Making, Revised (with Microsoft Project and Printed Access Card),
Mason: South-Western College Pub.

Danoun, R. (2007), Desalination Plants: Potential impacts of brine discharge on marine life,
Retrieved from http://ses.library.usyd.edu.au/bitstream/2123/1897/1/Desalination%20Plants.pdf.

Fishman, C. (2011). The Big Thirst: The Secret Life and Turbulent Future of Water, New
York: Free Press.

Kerzner, H. (2009). Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling,

and Controlling, 10th Ed, New Jersey: Wiley.

Kerzner, H. (2005). Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and

Controlling, 9th Ed, New Jersey: Wiley.

Lewis, J. P. (2006). Fundamentals of Project Management, 3rd Ed, New York: AMACOM.

Lindgren, M. & Bandhold, H. (2009). Scenario Planning: The Link Between Future and
Strategy, New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

Portny, S. E. (2010). Project Management for Dummies, 3rd Ed, New Jersey: Wiley.

Robert, K. et al, (2000). Effective Project Management, 2nd Ed, New Jersey: Wiley.

Wahlquist, A. (2008). Thirsty Country: Options for Australia, Sydney: Allen & Unwin.

Walker, D.H.T., Web-Based Project Management Scenario Case Studies, Retrieved from
http://dhtw.tce.rmit.edu.au

Operating Costs of Desalination retrieved from www.watertreatmentguide.com on January

 29

Water Quality Composition of Seawater Reverse Osmosis retrieved from

www.watertreatmentguide.com on January

Distillation Process retrieved from www.watertechnology.net , on January 31, 2012.

Multistage Distillation Model, retrieved from www.watertechnology.net , on January 31,

2012.

Reverse Osmosis Process retrieved from www.watertechnology.net , on January 31, 2012.

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ABBREVIATIONS

1. SWRO (seawater reverse osmosis)

2. EST (earliest starting time)

3. LFT (latest finishing time)

4. PERT (project evaluation and review technique)

5. HR (human resources)

6. BOOT (build own operate and transfer)

7. DBOOT (design build own operate and transfer)

8. UV (ultraviolet)