The Keppel Marina East Desalination Plant (KMEDP) is a large-scale desalination facility in close proximity to both the sea and the urban catchment Marina reservoir, located at the Marina East area of Singapore. The plant is being built with the ability to treat both freshwater and sea water, depending on weather conditions.
Launched in February 2021, KMEDP is Singapore’s fourth desalination plant and is a public private partnership between Keppel Infrastructure (through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Marina East Water) and the Public Utilities Board (PUB), Singapore’s National Water Agency.
The plant will produce 30 million gallons a day of drinking water over a period of 25 years, making it a crucial infrastructure for providing a reliable source of water supply for Singapore. According to the World Resources Institute, the current national water demand in Singapore is roughly 430 million gallons per day, while current per capita household water consumption sits at 141 liters (about 37 gallons) per person per day.
Design innovation
As Keppel Infrastructure’s appointed engineer, AECOM provided innovative solutions to overcome the challenges of designing and constructing what will be the world’s first dual-mode desalination plant.
The plant is fully fitted with dual intakes so that during dry weather, when the water level in the reservoir is low, sea water can be pumped into the plant to be desalinated. Conversely, when the reservoir water levels are high, the plant will treat water from the reservoir, enabling energy efficiency since fresh water utilizes less energy than seawater desalination.
The engineering design includes raw water intake from the sea and reservoir to a dual flow chamber, through pre-treatment using flocculation and dissolved air flotation, followed by ultrafiltration involving a two-pass reverse osmosis system; and post-treatment using ultraviolet disinfection.
Environmentally friendly features
This unique design helps Singapore to harness new technology cost effectively and highlights AECOM’s commitment to sustainable infrastructure solutions.
KMEDP will incorporate multiple uses of land, featuring a 20,000-square-meter open rooftop green space for community recreation and a viewing gallery through which the desalination equipment and underground treatment facilities can be observed.
It will also include environmentally friendly features such as rainwater harvesting, where rainwater collected can be used to irrigate the green roof and support the facility’s water features and landscaping needs.