In the Caribbean, water supplies face multiple challenges. Recent severe droughts have diminished water supplies as population growth and a booming tourism industry have increased demand. The island of St. Maarten was in crisis when its aging desalination plant’s production sank to 763,777 GPD (2,891 m³/d) below its original capacity. It needed refurbishment, but a new plant would also be needed to meet demand.

The news was not all bad. In the past decade, breakthroughs in seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) technology have dramatically increased desalination’s cost-efficiency, making the project much more affordable than the St. Maarten water authority (GEBE) had expected.

Seven Seas Water’s local subsidiary, Air-Fin Holding St. Maarten N.V., broke into action to quickly deliver a 1 million GPD (3,785 m³/d) plant with modern SWRO technology under a Water-as-a-Service ® (WaaS®) contract. The build-own-operate-transfer (BOOT) agreement required no upfront investment, and GEBE had its new Cupecoy plant in under five months, with specialized Seven Seas professionals operating and maintaining it.

At Cay Bay, Seven Seas refurbished GEBE’s existing plant, increasing the capacity from 2,800,223 to 3,500,00 GPD (10,600 to 13,250 m³/d). Modern SWRO efficiency cut energy requirements by 30%, shrinking the plant’s carbon footprint and making the plant more environmentally friendly in a number of ways. For instance, Seven Seas’ brine discharge management has previously earned high marks by researchers.

Seven Seas has a long history of delivering infrastructure in the Caribbean, where water shortages are made more acute by limited alternative water sources.