Ocean Crossing Pipeline for Island Water Supply

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I am doing some preliminary research on the project of connecting a water source from the mainland to an island.

Any experience in submerged pipe or similar types of underwater crossings? The distance would be 40-60 km and for a population of about 60,000.

What are the main challenges of this type of installation?

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26 Answers

  1. Hello Ben. This is a specialized application. Generally PE pipelines work very well and are easy to lay for long distances.  For your needs I would recommend go for 9 MLD with a 355 mm PE pipe of a suitable pressure class.

  3. Hi Ben, further to my recent post I now have a better feel for your project. I think you might contact the water company in Trinidad as they have a very similar situation in Tobago which has a population of 60,000 and their main industry is tourism. Their solution is to make the most of the (plentiful) rainfall on the island.

  4. Dear Mr. Vander Plas,

     

       I reviewed your question, and the responses. I feel I belong to a civilization which is having some mental troubles. You want to feed an island with pure water?? The easiest solution would be to desalinate seawater which is surrounding the island??? We have established a very simple water desalination system based on room temperature evaporation, CONSUMING NO EXTERNAL ENERGY, similar to evaporation of sweat from human body leading to cooling of the body. The energy needed for water evaporation is simply obtained by cooling the bulk of water body. It is there right in front of every eye, however human beings on this planet are surely having trouble seeing what is in front of them, due to the hatred they have in their heart. Complete description of room temperature evaporation is provided  at www.naturalseawaterdesalination.com

  5. Hi Ben, amidst all the solutions offered to you already I would like to refer you to PWN Watercompany, www.pwn.nl

    Many years ago they have realized and are now operating a double pipe line from NL mainland to the isle of Texel. Nominal population 10.000, expanding in the holiday season to 50.000. Good luck with your project.

  8. Ben

    My initial thought is to submerge HDPE depending on ID for population as this could be installed in a faster time frame. However, you would need to look at long term cost associated with both HDPE and a desalination plant. Feel free to email me and we can talk more. 

  9. Thanks everyone for the suggestions and information. Just to give a little more background, the study is for the island of Roatán, off of the Caribbean coast of Honduras. There has been interest in expanding tourism and economic development, but many areas are lacking a reliable and quality water source. Pumped wells make up the majority of the water supply, with imported bottled water commonly used for drinking. It's very possible that the undersea pipeline is not the most economic approach, but funding would likely come mostly from external sources rather than the local government. To clarify, this is not an ongoing project, simply a study, so unfortunately I don't have much in the way of specific details.

    1 Comment

    1. Hi dear ben

      Iceland map in Google saw me there lay an island about 40 km from the seasonal drought.

      I think you most be collecting data then we help you.

      1 : The first feasibility
      2 :The local government work permit
      3 :Full maps of the area.
      4 :What is the depth of the sea
      5 :Profile seabed plan
      Can be worked step by step

      best rigards


  10. I am curious as to why everyone is pushing for energy intensive expensive solutions? I mentioned rainwater earlier their are also water treatment solutions that are efficient and work. What are you using currently? 

    1 Comment

  12. You may need a buoyant zero carbon desalinizer. Please email for details.

  13. Dear Van Vander Plas,

    Both option some merits & demerits the tanker supply running cost is high and the pipe line supply one time investment I am giving my thought on that , firstly ,there is need of calculating the quantity of water that we have to supply to customers then line losses to be added to calculated quantity of supply and some % of addition of supply quantities for our new service reservoir design,however the increase in population would also lead to the increased waste water flows as well. Population is 60000 suppose one people requirement is 100 lit then total water requirements is 6000 m3/day or 250 m3/hr. According to capacity you can design line ID. Submarine pipelines may be very effective under favourable conditions. Investigations and feasibility studies are necessary to determine the costs and risks involved.

    Advantages

    This technology incurs minimal operational costs if operated with a gravity-fed supply. It also permits diversion of water from water-rich areas to water-poor areas.

    Disadvantages

    This technology incurs very high engineering and construction costs, the line can damaged by tides, storm etc.

    Some examples of pipe line under ocean

    1. Northern Cyprus Water Supply Project, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus Water Supply Project

    The Northern Cyprus Water Supply Project for transporting water to Cyprus was to be completed in September 2014

    The high-density polyethylene underwater pipeline with 1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in) diameter is 80.151 km (49.804 mi) long and is suspended at a depth of 250 m (820 ft)

    The pipeline has transferrd annually 75 million m³ water from the Alaköprü Dam on the Anamur-Dragon Creek in Turkey to the Geçitköy Dam in Northern Cyprus.

     

    2. Lee, Yow Ching 1989. Development of Water Supply in Penang Island, Malaysia. In: Proceedings of the Seminar on Water Management in Small Island Statesnd is susceptible to damage due to heavy seas and tidal flows.

    3. In late 2013, Makai was contracted by a joint venture between Sigur Ros and Kalyon Group to perform deployment analysis for the on-bottom portion of a 63” (1.6m) diameter, 66 mile (107 km) long HDPE pipeline to transmit drinking water from the Turkish mainland to the island of Cyprus (Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus). Makai performed pipe stress analysis, design of the holdfasts, pipe weights, and bridle system, and final deployment analysis and guidelines.

    Regards,

    Prem Baboo

    1 Comment

  14. The oil and gas industries use underwater pipelines frequently but it's unusual for water supply. They generally use steel but the water industry tends (now) towards polyethylene. It would be interesting to see a DCF analysis or whole life costing of the alternatives plus a risk analysis.

  15. Seriously!!
    Installing Desalination Plant of 15-20 MLD will be more cost effective than installing submerged pipe line of 40-60 km.
    However, for better clarity, can you please share CAPEX & OPEX at terraquaer@gmail.com

    2 Comments

  16. Please see my on the Red Sea-Dead Sea Conveyance Project, which might help you.

    Regards. --- Hilmi

    =======================

    http://www.academia.edu/4085287/The_Red_Sea-Dead_Sea_Conveyance_RSDS_Project_A_Solution_for_Some_Problems_or_a_Cause_for_Many_Problems_Published_by_Palestine_Academy_Press_with_Sponsorship_of_the_United_Nations_Development_Programme_UNDP_and_the_Programme_of_Assistance_to_the_Palestinian_People_PAPP_

  17. if they are set on a pipeline.  they should build a pipe.  they will usually use steel with psi of about 32 or 33 k lbs.

    as they, on a boat, lay the pipe, it would bend and hug the sea floor.

    there are special boats for these.

     

    good luck

     

  18. Have you condidered desalinating sea water?

  19. Have you thought IV rainwater harvesting? Many places around the world capture rain for all of their needs.

  20. Hi Ben,

    Based on the population and the demand, I recommend ship container transportation regarding its economy and operational flexibility and avoiding the risks and higher costs of maintenance.

    Did you get the permission for such bulk transportation of water, something which is not allowed here in Canada to export bulk water to the US. 

     

  21. I agree with Steve, either tankering or setting a treatment unit on the island would be more cost effective. (also, I agree with his flow and reservation estimates)

    The investment cost only for the installation of such a pipeline (50km long, on the ocean floor) would make the potable water very expensive for the islanders.

  22. I am here in Lindi Tanzania - water is brought across the bay through a hDPE 200 dia line but it is only about 7 km long. It is around 30 years old and experiencing failures at the welds and once with blood moon tide a section of 500 m was ripped out - the anchor blocks failed due to liquefaction of the sand on which it lay.

  24. Hi Ben. We have large experience in submerged pipe and similar types of underwater crossings, for shorter distances. I am trying to enclose a presentation we made about a recent project we designed in Spain. Though it is in Spanish, I think that it is easy to understand, as it has many images. If you have any doubt, do not hesitate to contact me.

  25. Hi there Ben. Certainly use of polyethylene is now well established and it can be gradually sunk by attaching concrete weights occasionally. You are going to need a flow of around 100 l/s as a design and will need storage on the island to even out demand of some 10,000 m3. You might look at tankering as an alternative. This is used quite commonly and tanker costs are surprisingly low. I know that water is taken by tanker from the US to the Bahamas for example. Also consider how you might limit demand or exploit reuse / treatment on the island. Hope this helps?