Due to the frequent drought periods that have been affecting the coastal area of Santa Cruz in Guanacaste, a company finances the creation of a desalination plant which will produce 23 liters of drinking water per second, specifically in the Conchal Reserve, Guanacaste. The project is in charge of the company Florida Ice & Farm (Fifco) after seeing the consequences caused by the strong droughts that have occurred in the area. “This type of innovative works are of great importance for the country, especially as it is a project that is located in an area that has been very affected by the drought”, said Gisela Sánchez, Director of Corporate Relations. The desalination process is carried out through reverse osmosis. With the application of electrical energy, a high pressure is generated in the seawater in specialized equipment in the semipermeable membranes that let the water molecules pass but not the salt molecules. The marine biology studies carried out indicate that there are no sensitive marine ecosystems that can be affected by the seabed at the seawater intake point, as well as in the brine discharge (water with a high concentration of dissolved salt) desalination process. “The impacts are minimal and are related to the proper disposal of the brine and the consumption of electric power”, says Sánchez. The start of the design and construction process began in 2014, which involved the installation of underground piping for the collection and discharge of the brine. However, the main thing is to install the 4 modules that were envisaged from the first phase of its construction, since the plant will have the capacity to generate 23 liters per second of drinkable water. (LINK)