Back in service

Work at the Bridgetown Sewage Treatment Plant (BSTP) is pressing ahead as planned.

In fact, the first step in returning the Emmerton, St Michael plant to optimum capacity has been completed with the recommissioning of one of two processing units there.
Yesterday, Processing Unit #1 (PU#1) was officially recommissioned after a press briefing held by Minister of Energy and Water Resources, Wilfred Abrahams; General Manager of the Barbados Water Authority (BWA), Keithroy Halliday and Head of the BWA’s Waste Water Division, Patricia Inniss.

PU#1, also known as the contact tank, was out of operation for two years. Furthermore, with additional sewage diverted from the South Coast Sewage Treatment Plant (SCSTP), the plant was on the verge of collapse.

Minister Abrahams therefore launched a $400,000 emergency fix at the plant, which included cleaning and repairing both processing units and cleaning the wet wells at the River Road Lift Station and the BSTP.

“We are at a happy stage of managing the repairs to the Bridgetown Sewage Treatment Plant … It is principally because of Minister Abrahams’ directive and support that he was able to immediately procure $400 000 for an emergency fix for this particular processing unit,” Halliday pointed out.

The BWA pushed aggressively to meet the two-week deadline, however the General Manager explained that the rains caused a delay, but only by a few days. He revealed that the project focused on activity including the removal of debris, bush and plants from PU#1; the repair and re-installation of the 35-foot, three-ton bridge, which usually sits over the unit; the cleaning, repair and replacement of pipes and diffusers, the clearing of valves and the repair of the 12-inch airline.

An estimated total of 758 m3 of sludge was removed from PU#1 and disposed in a specially created spot at the Mangrove Landfill, equipped with open trenches to accept the waste, which was spread and covered in layers using substances like fly-ash, organic substance and white lime.

“There were many negative comments about our staff and why is it that we are in the position that we are in today. And that is not necessarily an easy answer. It is not because our workers have been lazy. But, we now have the support; we have the funding in place; we now have that energy and drive to get what needs to be done completed,” Halliday expressed.

A pleased Minister Abrahams commended the private contractors Project Recycle/Jose & Jose, teams from the BWA, the Ministry of Environment and the Sanitation Service Authority (SSA), who worked together and around the clock to meet the deadline.

“And this has been the general approach not just to the Bridgetown Plant, but also in respect to the South coast sewage issues as well … I want to thank the staff who put their heart into it, who bought into the whole plan to let us get this done in a record amount of time. And let’s show what we can do if we are committed and motivated.

“It wasn’t simply just a clean and a fix. In the last three weeks, we have managed to entirely rebuild this processing unit to a point where, unless something really unforeseen happens, we don’t think we have to look back at this unit for another 15 years, with the exception of routine maintenance. And we intend to maintain and upkeep it, so that what happened before that caused us to be here, never happens again,” Abrahams assured.

Now back in operation the unit carries about a million gallons of wastewater, which will be treated and disposed of as effluent. Work on PU#2 is expected to start shortly. (TL)