Four solar-powered desalination plants have been installed on the islands of Mbuke and Whal in Manus Province.
This Pacific Environment Community Fund project has progressed ahead of schedule on the islands of Bipi and now, Mbuke and Whal.
National desalination project manager, Tom Anayabere, said all Sojitz engineers, who are in charge of the installation of the plants, departed Lorengau on Nov 29. They left for Japan via Port Moresby for their three-week Christmas break.
They will return early January 2017 to continue with the remedial works on Whal Island, installation and final checks on Mbuke and Bipi.
Anayabere said Mbuke is a volcanic island and the quality of water extracted from the beach well source looks just as clear as the desalinated output drinking water.
Mbuke has three solar-powered plants producing 120L of fresh drinking water per hour. Altogether, they produce 2160L of fresh drinking water per day.
All three plans were completed and accepted by the National Project Manager on Nov 17, 2016.
On Whal Island, the solar desalination plant was completed on Nov 24, 2016.
Whal has only one desalination plant which produces 120L per hour and 720L of fresh drinking water per day.
Anayabere said the desalination plants for Nauna, Mal and Aua islands, which will be worked on next year, are portable units that can be operated where required on the respective islands. The units are not fixed and not site specific.
Meanwhile, islanders on Bipi now have access to six solar-powered saltwater desalination plant sites that produce 120L of fresh drinking water per hour from beach wells.
Six solar-powered desalination plants have been successfully installed and commissioned on Bipi, which produce a total water capacity of 720L per hour.
“That’s equivalent of 4,320 litres per day of fresh desalinated drinking water,” says project manager Anayabere.
This project is the first-of-its-kind in the country that aims to ensure islanders have access to a sustainable and reliable water supply system.
Manus Province is paving the way for similar projects to be implemented for other atoll islands affected by the effects of climate change, resulting in the rise of sea level and thereby affecting their source of drinking water.
(The plant site at Whal. Picture: Project manager Tom Anayabere)