Water and energy solutions provider, Davis and Shirtliff, has commissioned its largest ever sea water reverse osmosis plant at the Shanzu Beach Resort on Mombasa’s north coast, to generate 3,000 litres an hour of pure water from raw sea water.
The installation of the Sh11.8 million plant has been driven by the need to ensure a reliable water supply for the resort’s 46 luxury apartments in an area where the municipal water supply is irregular.
“After drilling a borehole on the site on the coastline, we found that it was too saline for human consumption, and the only treatment available was reverse osmosis,” said Stanley Theuri, the CEO of Shanzu Beach Resort.
Reverse osmosis is a technique that uses semi permeable membranes to filter solvents, bacteria and viruses out of water. The membranes remove virtually all dissolved solids and microorganism from the water rendering it totally pure. It is a process particularly suitable for treating salinity and is also used in manufacturing where pure water is needed.
Through the partnership with Davis and Shirtliff, Shanzu Beach Resort will provide fresh water to holiday makers at the resort despite the average salinity levels of the sea water standing at about 3.5% or 35 grams per litre, which represent dangerously high sodium levels for human consumption.
“The salinity challenge is considerable at the coast, with both institutions and home owners constantly searching for solutions that best fit their situation. This has demanded that we develop innovative, tailor-made approaches to accessing clean water,” said Alec Davis, CEO of Davis and Shirtliff.
The plant at Shanzu Beach Resort is a first-of-its-kind installation by Davis and Shirtliff for a hotel at the coast. The water and energy solutions provider has, however, installed non-sea water reverse osmosis plants for Serena Beach Hotel and Spa (delivering 10,000 litres per hour), Emerald Flamingo Beach Resort and Spa (delivering 2,000 litres per hour), Pangoni Beach Hotel (delivering 1,000 litres per hour), Eden Beach Resort (delivering 1,000 litres per hour) and the Aga Khan Academy Mombasa (delivering 16,000 litres per hour).
