Panama Canal Low Water 2

[1503-44]

Panama Canal Shipping Cuts
In the face of El Niño Drought

Technical details

--Einstein gave the same test to students every year. When asked why he would do something like that, "Because the answers had changed."

 

[hokie66]

The water is lost when a ship exits the last lock. That's when the fresh water mixes with sea water. You don't want to recycle that.

 

[dik]

That article...

"The Republic of Panama located on the isthmus linking Central and South America and is bordered by Costa Rica, Colombia, the Caribbean Sea, and the Pacific Ocean. In Panama, widespread poverty and inequality have negative spillover effects on the environment. Panama is considered one of the most biologically diverse countries in the world, and more than 12% of Panama’s landmass is protected. Nonetheless, poverty pressures have driven many to exploit the natural resources of the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor in harmful ways. In addition, deforestation is a growing concern. With estimated 4.3 million (2020) people, Panama’s economy is led by the service sector which includes sub-sectors such as air transportation, tourism, and construction, contributing to 83% of GDP, 90% of exports and 65% of employment (2019). Climate change threatens to increase vulnerability of both human and ecological systems in Panama. The agriculture, water resources, forestry, coastal zone management and health sectors will be particularly impacted. More frequent and intense storms, floods, and droughts are causing huge economic losses and affecting the livelihoods of the poorest and most marginalized members of society."

So much for blathering...

https://climateknowledgeportal.worldbank.org/country/panama

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So strange to see the singularity approaching while the entire planet is rapidly turning into a hellscape. -John Coates

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[TugboatEng]

Dik, the lake is artificial. It literally deforested 164 square miles. Any loss of level due to climate change should be a boon to the marginalized people or Panama as it restores the land to its prehuman state.

 

[dik]

That seems contrary to the article by the World Bank. If correct, then it is helping to mitigate more serious harm outlined above.

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So strange to see the singularity approaching while the entire planet is rapidly turning into a hellscape. -John Coates

-Dik

 

[GregLocock]

Still blather. The water shortage is now and rainfall hasn't changed. The number of ships and the population increase are the direct cause.

@Hokie, hmm yes, whoops.

Cheers

Greg Locock


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[TugboatEng]

That seems contrary to the article by the World Bank.

That's a problem?

Do you not see a conflict of interest?

 

[1503-44]

The alternate route is in Nicaragua.
First surveyed in 1825.
Was a favored alternate in the US during the late 1800s, but was sunk by a "Nicaragua has too many volcanos" campaign, for which "Cromwell was paid US$800,000 for his lobbying efforts." Real money back then.

Nicaragua Canal Project

BTW "The Path Between the Seas" a history of the development and construction of the Panama Canal, should be required reading for any engineers involved with large international construction projects.

--Einstein gave the same test to students every year. When asked why he would do something like that, "Because the answers had changed."

 

[LittleInch]

Facengr.

The volume of water is directly related to what is in the lock. That's why ship sizes are often termed "displacement".

A lock full of water with no ship or a very small ship has a greater volume of water than a lock with a huge ship in it barely able to get over the top lock gate sill.

Boat lifts that size would be extraordinary, but the ones built in the 1800's were all balanced and as the weight of the lock didn't change regardless of what was in it (so long as the same water depth was in it), the motors to lift one side versus the other were actually very small.

I've been on this one and its amazing.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anderton_Boat_Lift

The Falkirk wheel is a modern version built a few year ago.

The new Panama locks operate a three basin system with I think 5 levels to reduce water outflow by about 60 to 70% so isn't a simple one lock drain system as shown in your photo.

Given the locks are in a three step system, I think it only need about 30MW of pumping power to empty a lock back into the lake its just been filled with based on 100,000m3 of water in 10 minutes lifting it 8 m. So in total it's a fair bit of power, but only pumps for a fraction of the time.

Perfectly doable.


Remember - More details = better answers
Also: If you get a response it's polite to respond to it.

 

[LionelHutz]

The water is lost when a ship exits the last lock. That's when the fresh water mixes with sea water. You don't want to recycle that.

It can mix in all the locks. Any seawater in the lower lock will mix with the water in the middle lock when the doors are open between them. Same with the upper lock.

 

[1503-44]

The salinity is probably reduced substantially, as the lower lock is filled with fresh water to raise it to level 2 and as the ship moves out, fresh water is drawn in and replaces the ship's displacement as well. If there are 3 levels, the final mix might be within fresh water salt content tolerance. Something to look into in more detail.

--Einstein gave the same test to students every year. When asked why he would do something like that, "Because the answers had changed."

 

[GregLocock]

Yes, it needs to be a closed loop system if you are pumping the water round, sharing the canal water with drinking water doesn't sound like a good idea in the first place.

Cheers

Greg Locock


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[cranky108]

So what are you sharing your drinking water with? The purpose of a water processing facility is to improve the quality of water served to people for drinking.
Actually I likely live uphill of many people, so what is in your water?
If I recall correctly, much of Panama was a swamp, which is why it was so hard to build. Many people died from mosquito infections. Making it a lake likely reduced the breeding area for the mosquitos.

Besides, having one of something like the canal is going to have problems now and then, so a second, maybe less attractive solution is worth having. And now that shipping volumes are increasing, it becomes more important.
As the shipping volumes increase, the cost of using a canal should increase, either in cost $, or in waiting times. This becomes a factor in shipping companies calculations, and when it gets to a point where the alternative is the same of cheaper, then that route will take on more shipping volume.
That said I would expect different containers to have a different cost point as some maybe more time sensitive.

 

[IRstuff]

The purpose of a water processing facility is to improve the quality of water served to people for drinking.

The issue is that almost all water processing plants do not desalinate even diluted sea water; desalination has been the holy grail of water processing for decades, and the cost/energy is still a bridge too far, unless one has absurdly deep pockets.

TTFN (ta ta for now)
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[cranky108]

The interesting thing is Nuclear power plants, as well as many others, require a lot of cooling water, part of which is given off as water vapor. But few plants operate as a synergetic system to do both.

 

[dik]

That may have to change in the future...

-----*****-----
So strange to see the singularity approaching while the entire planet is rapidly turning into a hellscape. -John Coates

-Dik