Aldabra gets a new water tower |21 May 2018

The construction of a new water tower on Aldabra has been successfully completed. After more than a year of planning and building, the new structure is fully functional.

The construction of the new water tower comes after the collapse of the old one late last year.

The project was led by senior mechanic Alain Banane, Aldabra’s longest serving resident, with the support of the island manager.

In August 2017 Aldabra’s old water tower collapsed after being in existence for the last 15 years. Over time the metal structure had corroded and the tower collapsed under the weight of two 2,800L water tanks, one filled with salt water and the other with fresh water. Luckily, the logistics team had noticed the corrosion and had been preparing for the construction of a new water tower. The first two bases and pillars of the new water tower were started in November 2016 with assistance of the crew from the vessel Entreprise II. This first phase took a total of four days. The other two bases were constructed in May 2017 during a second phase and required a tremendous effort from members of both the logistics and research teams. After the collapse of the old tower, the work became a high priority for the atoll. This final phase involved a lot of planning and design work. Alain spent over three months working on Aldabra

The welding of the metal structure is now made up of galvanised steel. Several constraints were encountered such as a lack of materials and difficulties with the welding. However, the team pushed through and managed to hoist the heavy steel bars up to 20 metres high! The structure was finally completed in February 2018. Two 1000L tanks were installed and the new tower is now fully functional, providing water to all staff houses and buildings on the research station. Only the railing remains to be installed and this will be completed soon.

This project represents one of the biggest achievements for the logistics team as it was conducted almost entirely in-house without external contractors and without the use of heavy machinery. The work involved extensive planning, great team work and determination. With the improved and reinforced structure, project leader Alain is confident that the new tower will last almost a lifetime!

SIF