BRIDGEPORT, NJ, July 29, 2015 -- The Panama Canal Expansion Program (PCEP), a project currently underway to double the capacity of the canal by 2016, is receiving heavy-duty dewatering pumps from Xylem Inc., a global water technology company, to fill the third set of basin locks on the Pacific Ocean sector with 1.7 billion gallons of water, as part of performance trials for the system prior to its commissioning.
The PCEP is scheduled for completion in the second quarter of 2016. It creates a new traffic lane and builds two new lock complexes -- one on the Atlantic Ocean and the other on the Pacific Ocean -- allowing for the passage of New Panamax ships.
To support the dewatering project, Xylem installed 15 Godwin diesel-driven pumps, deployed from the United States. In June, these pumps transported up to 122 million gallons of water per day (MGD) from the Miraflores Lake to fill the third set of locks on the Pacific. Over a period of 22 days, the project consisted of pumping enough water to fill 90,000 average sized swimming pools.
Xylem is providing turnkey services and equipment for the project, with its highly-skilled engineers designing and installing the system, which also includes 13,500 feet (more than 2.5 miles) of 18-inch high-density polyethylene pipeline (HDPE) to transfer the massive amounts of water. Xylem is also supervising the performance of the 15 Godwin pumps with its remote pump monitoring system called Field Smart Technology.
The third set of basin locks includes reuse basins that will save water and also improve the Panama Canal's efficiency, using 7 percent less water compared with the amount currently used by the existing locks. In addition, in each transit operation, 60 percent of the water will be recycled.
This is the second project that the Authority of the Panama Canal (ACP) has awarded to Xylem under the program. Earlier this year, the company supplied 64 Flygt mixers to prevent the formation of corrosive deposits on the rolling gates during installation.
See also:
"Vietnam agricultural irrigation system to use Xylem pumps in $1.7m contract"
"Xylem chief financial officer to resign, accept another opportunity"
About Xylem
Xylem (XYL) is a global water technology provider, enabling customers to transport, treat, test and efficiently use water in public utility, residential and commercial building services, industrial and agricultural settings. The company does business in more than 150 countries through a number of market-leading product brands, and its people bring broad applications expertise with a strong focus on finding local solutions to the world’s most challenging water and wastewater problems. For more information, visit www.xyleminc.com.
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