Piping work for a deep ocean water plant, conducted for the first time by a local company, was completed in Taitung County July 18, marking an important step in creating a deep ocean water industry there.
The county has sought to create a deep ocean water industry for the past decade, and the initiative is one of the projects under the i-Taiwan 12 infrastructure projects framework. With support from the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Department of Agriculture, construction began July 1, 2009 on the southern shore of the Zhiben River of a deep ocean water low temperature and multiple objective technology R&D model plant.
Some NT$440 million (US$13.68 million) was budgeted for the construction of the facility, and the most critical part of the project involved the construction of a 4,960-meter-long network of pipes to reach a depth of 700 meters.
The first pipe-laying attempt was carried out in the early morning of July 3l, but failed because of the strong sea flow, allowing the pipes to only be inserted some 200 to 300 meters into the water. The contractor and the 8th River Management Office of the Water Resources Administration decided to set out again two weeks later after examining the causes of the failure.
At a little after 4 a.m. July 18, 37 vessels and nine earthmoving vehicles made their way to Meihu Village in Taimali Township. The vehicles lifted the pipes up, with a large garnet platform standing by in front of the water intake mouths. A 4,400-metric ton tugboat was on hand to support the operation. In the end, the project proceeded smoothly.
Wu Gui-jing, a local contractor, explained that this time over 1,000 lift bags were employed to keep the network of pipes stable, adding that since the slightest amount of error would result in the pipes snapping, the work was carried out in conjunction with vessels and earthmoving equipment that have long been involved in marine-related construction and engineering projects.
Wu furthermore explained that, while the ocean current along the coast runs from the northeast to the southwest, the current switches towards the northwesterly direction two kilometers out to sea. He said the pipes were laid in reflection of the ocean current in the specific region where water was to be extracted. He said at 5 p.m. the entire network of pipes had been successfully moved to the ocean. They then used a GPS system and the assistance of vessels to move the pipes to a normal line slightly north. The system of pipes was then immersed into the water in the evening.
Chen Long-zheng, head of the 8th River Management Office, stated that a similar facility in Hualien invested in by three private companies started operation in 2006 through the assistance of a Japanese technical team. But the underwater pipe-laying work for the factory in Taitung was conducted entirely by locals, he said.
Chen added that the construction is expected to be completed on schedule at the end of August and will be followed up by trial usage. The pipeline is designed to bring in some 12,000 metric tons of water daily, with half of the intake to be provided to deep ocean water parks. The temperature of the water will be between 8 and 12 degrees Celsius, and the water will contain over 90 types of minerals, he said.
(This article originally appeared in The Liberty Times July 19.)