31 / 10 / 2017

Water Security in Challenging Environments

People getting water from a truck water tank in East Africa

Easily transportable and quick to assemble, Chelsea Water’s containerised water purification systems provide clean drinking water to World Health Organisation and European drinking-water standards. Brought to you by Enigma Alliance, WaterCap’s secure containerised solutions are ideal for remote or fragile environments.

For the last three years, Chelsea Water has been providing secure accommodation Chelsea Village hotel in the AAIA green zone of Mogadishu, Somalia, with a Reverse Osmosis plant that provides WHO-standard clean drinking water straight from the tap. This not only provides our client with ongoing water security but reduces our carbon footprint, as no bottled water is needed – minimising the waste pollution from discarded plastic. During this period, we have guaranteed water security successfully for our clients in Mogadishu, one of the most hostile places in the world.

Now, Chelsea Water is bringing its first containerised desalination plant to Somalias shores.

“Water security and the reuse of water is essential for any remote- site operation in challenging environments and even more so in drought-ridden countries such as Somalia,” says COO Daniel Stewart. After studying the freshwater aquifer that supplies the water to Chelsea Village hotel, and many of the surrounding embassies and operations, Enigma Smart Site Services decided to make the investment into a Desalination plant. “With a continued lack of fresh water and our operation 1km from the sea, we decided to invest into desalination as this does not pressurise a threatened water source that is already being exhausted and allows balance and control across the aquifer,” explains Daniel.

The Chelsea Water Solution 

The Seawater Reverse Osmosis (SWRO) Desalination plant is European-designed and takes into consideration more than three years of water monitoring from WaterCap’s existing plant in Chelsea Village hotel, analysing how the aquifer changes during the seasons depending on demand. The result is a water treatment plant fit for purpose, complying to both European and World Health Organisational standards for Somalia.

Chelsea Water’s Tier 1 manufacturer utilises the latest technology in water treatment processing and provides 24/7 monitoring of the water treatment plant’s operation, offering immediate service support remotely. The water treatment plant processes salt water into drinking water at over 5m3 per hour on demand 5000 litres. Utilising the very latest pump technology ensures that the plant has a low power consumption footprint.

Security Considerations

The design of the plant takes into account the ever-increasing volatility of security in Mogadishu as it can be quickly assembled and disassembled by Enigma Smart Site Services teams if the security situation deteriorates. “If we need to get our assets or the clients’ assets mobile in 48 hours we can do so,” says Daniel. “This is one of the key considerations of all our products (NapCapChelsea Water and GymCap): that they are mobile, rapidly deployable, plug-and-play solutions that are easily transportable.”

The Future of Water Security in Somalia

Chelsea Water’s strategy is the partnering of solutions and the education of water conservation, its reuse, and waste-water management in areas such as Somalia. The company believes that education plays an essential role in how to stabilise the world’s most precious resource, and this has to be shared at grass-roots level if Sustainable Development Goal 6 ‘Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all’ is to become a reality.

Chelsea Water’s long term goal is to set up a mobile water school in Mogadishu that can empower and educate, from local communities through to academia and authorities – with a special focus on empowering rural women, who are often the ones in charge of fetching water. “Chelsea Water is eager to play its part in assisting the current water challenges in Somalia and partnering for solutions,” says Daniel.

The SWRO Water Treatment Plant is due to arrive Nov and installations mid December.

Enigma Alliance is able to transform inhospitable areas, whether that be city locations or remote environments, into safe and comfortable experiences. Our containerised, plug-and-play products are designed by a team with more than 25 years’ experience operating in fragile and high-risk environments. We offer quality and secure container accommodation (NapCap), modular state-of-the-art gyms (GymCap) and modular water purification and waste management systems (Chelsea Water).

Chelsea Village hotel, a safe and comfortable accommodation site in Mogadishu, was designed, built and managed by Enigma Smart Site Services. Providing peace of mind, expert organisation and on-the-ground support, Enigma Smart Site Services offer an end-to-end solution for clients who are required to perform specialised tasks, often under extreme conditions.