SANTA ANA, Calif., June 26, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- WPSI, Inc. (WPSI), a water resource development company, today announced an engineering solution aimed at the recovery, reclamation and recycling of exit lock discharge water, as well as increasing the availability of fresh water and hydroelectric power in Panama. The Panama Canal Lock Water Reclamation System is designed to facilitate the development of the third lock set, support increases in transit capacity growth for the Panama Canal over the next fifty years, enable domestic economic growth, and create environmental benefits that will have a significant impact on Panama and the Central American region.
The Panama Canal is at a crossroads. While maritime traffic through the Canal system is relatively stable, the maritime industry has begun the shift to larger vessels, whose size make navigation through the existing Canal impossible. The inability of the Canal to handle the traffic threatens the long-term operable viability of the Canal as well as the economy of Panama. To solve this dilemma, the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) has initiated a process to design and build a third set of locks generally parallel to the existing Canal system.
However, there exists a fatal flaw in the concept: the supply of water from the interior of Panama is not sufficient to meet the combined needs of both the proposed and existing Canal systems. In order to alleviate the water demand, the ACP is proposing to integrate the use of recycling basins into the third lock set design. Unfortunately, the recycling basin concept will require extensive watershed development to produce approximately 104 million gallons of water per transit through the third lock set. Watershed development involves the irrevocable destruction of thousands of hectares of pristine tropical habitat, the dislocation of thousands of human inhabitants, and permanent displacement of animal species. These harmful consequences are rendered unnecessary with WPSI's patent-pending Panama Canal Lock Water Reclamation System.
"Our innovative system enables the ACP to meet and exceed their long-term capacity goals by offering an economically efficient and environmentally conscious solution that provides tremendous added value to ACP business operations," said Paul La Bonte, president and CEO of WPSI.
WPSI's concept enables recovery and reclamation of water that would be discharged from the exit lock chambers of the Canal. The water is then recycled into Gatun Lake, the hydraulic reservoir for the existing Canal system, and the proposed third lock set. Further, the system integrates a hydroelectric power generation subsystem capable of producing hundreds of megawatts of electrical power for the public electrical utility grid, and producing millions of gallons per day of fresh drinking water for domestic and commercial consumption. Integration of WPSI's concept into the ACP's third lock set design will result in the following benefits:
-- Treated water is recycled to Gatun Lake to support the hydraulic needs of the Canal systems, enhance the long-term viability of the lake system's ecology, and guard the lake system's water quality;
-- A saltwater intrusion prevention sub-system is installed to prevent the invasion of saltwater into Gatun Lake and Miraflores Lake;
-- Miraflores Lake, which has become brackish since the beginning of operations of the existing Canal system, is "flushed" to restore it as a fresh water body;
-- The hydroelectric power generation system generates hundreds of mega-watts of net clean hydroelectric power for Panama and the Central American region;
-- The public water system receives significant supplies of "potable" water for domestic and commercial consumption to sustain domestic and economic growth in the region; and
-- The need to flood thousands of hectares of virgin tropical habitat to create a man-made reservoir at enormous environmental and socio-economic costs is averted.
Because WPSI's concept avoids watershed development and the use of recycling basins, the overall cost for the ACP to develop the third lock set is reduced by billions.
"Panama is among the world's greatest economic centers and a commercial market that is immensely important to international trade," said La Bonte. "WPSI's concept will ensure the long-term viability of the proposed and existing Canal systems, while enhancing the productive management and long-term protection of the region's watershed and providing long-term economic and environmental benefits to the people of Central America."
WPSI's concept was rigorously evaluated by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA), after which the USTDA provided funds to the IDB for a feasibility study of the concept. The study, conducted by WPSI, found that the technical concepts are feasible and economically viable.
ABOUT WPSI, INC.
WPSI, Inc. is a privately held water resource development company and an innovator of environmental engineering solutions. The company developed a technical concept for the recovery, reclamation and recycling of exit lock discharge from the Panama Canal in order to increase the availability of fresh water and hydroelectric power in the Central American region. WPSI operates out of Santa Ana, Calif.