Overall water intensity improved at the power plant with FY2008/2009 consuming about 0.170 m3 of water for every Mwh of power generated. This is a 8.1% drop compared to the previous year.
The proportion of desalinated water being used for power operations stands at 66% in FY2008/2009. Teething problems associated with the desalination plant since it started operations on 30 August 2007 resulted in a lower proportion of desalinated water being used for operations than originally planned. Nevertheless, our drive towards greater water self-sufficiency will continue to see renewable water sources such as desalination water being used for our power plant operations for many years to come.
Wastewater Discharge
The process of power generation results in wastewater that is treated appropriately before it is discharged into the open sea. In fact, the wastewater undergoes stringent quality checks for heavy metals, biological oxygen demand (BOD) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) to determine whether it has significant effect on fish or aquatic plants.
The wastewater samples are taken bi-yearly and sent to an accredited laboratory for tests. For the period FY2006/2007 to FY2008/2009, the wastewater discharge was in full compliance with the Environmental Protection and Management (Trade Effluent) Regulations (2005).
The BOD and COD tests measure the relative oxygen depletion effect of a waste contaminant. In FY2006/2007 and FY2007/2008, the BOD and COD tests of the treated wastewater were less than 30mg/l and 100mg/l respectively. These are well within the regulatory limits.
Other significant substances contained in the trade effluent include Total Suspended Solids (TSS), Total Metals and Oil and Grease. These substances are also monitored periodically to ensure that they are in compliance with regulatory limits.
Our wastewater discharge to the open sea is constantly kept within the 30°C regulatory limit to ensure that aquatic fauna and flora are not significantly affected by high temperatures.
