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Building 32 - Seawater Delivery System

The Gulf Ecology Division conducts research in the estuarine environment. The salinity of available water ranges from the high salinity of the Gulf of Mexico, a few hundred yards south, to the brackish and fresh water conditions of the bays and rivers to the north. Water for experimentation is siphoned directly from the intercoastal waterway at the north shore of the island and depending upon the effects of tide, wind and rain can be unacceptably high or low in salt content for experimental purposes. For these reasons, a "seawater delivery system" has been implemented to insure a supply of water at controlled salinity levels.

[Picture of GED Seawater Delivery Engineering Diagram]

An engineering diagram of the "seawater delivery system" (19k).

[Picture of GED seawater pump dock and holding tanks]

Westward view of Dock and Holding Tanks (19k).

[Picture of GED seawater pump dock]

WetLab Dock "Pump Dock" (26k).
These pumps deliver "raw seawater" directly from the source and "filtered seawater" (down to 20 microns)

[Picture of GED seawater pumps]

Pumps (31k).
Front to Rear (1-4):

Pumps 1 and 2 function as the filtered seawater pumps
Pumps 3 and 4 deliver raw seawater to the Lab and outside holding tanks.

[Picture of GED seawater filters]

Primary charcoal and sand filters for the seawater and freshwater systems (34k).

[Picture of GED 9000 gallon seawater tanks]

Three 9000 gallon tanks (30k).
Left to Right

HST - High Salinity Tank
FSWRT - Filtered Seawater Reserve Tank
SCRT - Salinity Control Reserve tank

[Picture of GED 12000 gallon seawater tanks]

Three 12000 gallon primary holding tanks (30k).
Left to Right

SCT - Salinity Control Tank
FSWT - Filtered Seawater Tank
FW - Fresh Water Tank (Filtered and de-chlorinated municipal drinking water)

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