In 2007, several factors were contributing to prolonged water shortages in Sint Maarten, including increased tourism and population growth, as well as operational inefficiencies at an existing water facility.

In response to this critical water shortage, Air-Fin Holding N.V. (a wholly owned subsidiary of Seven Seas Water Group) won a tender to provide a new 1,000,000 GPD (3,700m³/d) Seawater Reverse Osmosis (SWRO) plant and update and operate the existing Cay Bay SWRO plant for the Sint Maarten government.

In 1996, the Cay Bay plant was built to produce 3,400,000 GPD (12,800m³/d), but by 2007, the outdated and inefficient plant was only producing an average of 2,800,000 GPD (10,600m³/d), requiring a thorough overhaul to restore its capacity and improve efficiency.

Over the following decade, demand continued to grow on the island and Seven Seas proactively worked with the government to increase the water capacity. In April 2014, Phase I of the Pointe Blanche SWRO desalination facility was commissioned at 1,000,000 GPD (3,700m³/d), and in February 2016, Phase 2 of the facility was commissioned for a combined capacity of 2,000,000 GPD (7,400m³/d).

Flexible Water Treatment Solutions

For the past fifteen years, Seven Seas has worked with the Sint Maarten government using the build-own-operate-transfer (BOOT) model to grow capacity and meet increasing demand. Seven Seas provided a solution that required no up-front capital investment from the government to rehabilitate the Cay Bay facility and to construct the Cupecoy and Pointe Blanche facilities. Seven Seas designed, constructed, and currently maintains all three of these facilities. In a true team approach, the Sint Maarten Water Authority (GEBE) provides operators for the plant while Seven Seas provides technical expertise and management.

Results That Save Money

Within five months of the 2007 contract execution, Seven Seas was able to deliver the state-of-the-art 1,000,000 GPD (3,700m³/d) Cupecoy facility. Furthermore, Seven Seas rehabilitated the Cay Bay facility to produce over 3,400,000 GPD (12,800m³/d) and greatly improved the efficiency with a system redesign which cut power costs by more than 30%. This reduction in power consumption has substantially lowered carbon and other emissions, conserving valuable resources and making the process significantly more eco-friendly. By supplying Sint Maarten with a reliable 6,400,000 GPD (23,900m³/d) and vastly increasing energy efficiencies, Seven Seas significantly lowered the cost of water for the island.