Panama Raw Water Station

BACKGROUND

As Panama has grown, there has been a continuing need for safe drinking water for residents in different regions of the national country. In 2018, the National Aqueducts and Sewerage Institute (IDAAN) as part of the central government’s projections made the decision to build a new raw water pumping station to increase drinking water production at the Water Treatment Plant. The goal was to increase the reliability of the system, which was important to residents given the deterioration of the existing raw water station. This pumping of raw water is part of the drinking water treatment system that benefits about 60,000 inhabitants of Changuinola, Guabito, El Silencio and El Empalme.

The project was designed by Joca Ingeniería y Construcciones, who was participating in this project because they want to grow their business in Latin America. They brought in the distributor PRIMEX Proyectos Generales SA (PROGESA).

LOCATION

The Changuinola district of Bocas del Toro Province is located in northwestern Panama. It is known as a tourist mecca and an important agricultural site for large banana plantations.

SCOPE

The new raw water pumping station was designed to extract and filter water from the Changuinola River (water can have a high sediment content, which makes filtering critical) and then pump the water to a current drinking water treatment plant located 2 KM away where it is processed for human consumption.
The scope of the project included large PRIMEX control panels that controlled four 350 HP water pumps and seven 5HP sand pumps to properly filter sediments at the start of the process. PRIMEX also provided variable frequency drives with line reactors, a 1600 amp main switch, a PRIMEX pump controller and extensive remote monitoring via Pump Watch™ system.
This design was developed and installed in conjunction between PRIMEX and distributor Proyectos Generales, S.A. (PROGESA), who was also responsible for the supply of all station equipment, pump maintenance and control system.

SPECIAL FEATURES

PRIMEX was a key partner for the distributor and contractor on what turned out to be a highly visible project in Panama. Soon after the plant opened, Mr. Juan Carlos Varela – the former President of Panama visited to inspect the plant that was initiated while he was in office.

OWNER/CLIENT

Instituto de Acueductos y Alcantarillados Nacionales (IDAAN)

PARTNER NAME

Proyectos Generales, S.A. (PROGESA)

KEY CONTACT

Ing. Alvin Díaz, Gerente de Operaciones PROGESA.
Ing. Kadir De Gracia, Gerente de Proyectos PROGESA.
Phone: (+507) 6400 2253 /
(+507) 6920 4464

PROJECT START – END

January 2018 / June 2019

KEY PERSONNEL

SJE Rhombus:
Rodrigo Erazo
Latin America Sales Manager
Jerome Sayans
Sales Engineer
Owner:
Departamento de Operaciones del Instituto de Acueductos y Alcantarillados Nacionales (IDAAN). Edificio Sede, Vía Brasil. Apartado Postal: 5234 Panamá, Zona 5, Panamá.

SERVICES PROVIDED:

• Project Management
• Engineering
• VFD control panel
• Automation
• Installation
• Onsite configuration, testing, startup
• Training
• Calibration