New state of the art high pressure pump (left) and old pump on right to be replaced by the new one.

This was disclosed by Minister for Communications and Works, Honourable Julian Fraser, RA.

The Plant, which produces the bulk of water consumed by residents of Tortola, was unceremoniously handed over to Government in a shut down position on the evening of Monday March 29, 2010, by previous operators, Ocean Conversion.

Honourable Fraser, in providing updates in the House of Assembly of the Virgin Islands and other forums since then, has informed the public of the dilapidated state of the Plant. He said immediate steps had to be taken, including hiring consultants, to get the Plant back to producing water for residents and this was accomplished within two days of possession.

Minister Fraser said several problems were initially identified at the Plant, including the abandonment of over half the wells in the well field; equipment in a state of disrepair from lack of maintenance, with no spare parts on hand, outdated and no longer supported or in production; heavily corroded and collapsing steel tube vessel racks; and High Pressure Pumps operating constantly at above normal pressures.

“Since we were handed the Plant, we commissioned a team of experts to clean the wells; we have since installed new well pumps for half the wells and have on hand the remainder for the full restoration of the field,” he stated.

On June 16, 2010, Cabinet authorized spending to rebuild the entire Plant, with anticipated production yields of over 800,000 Imperial Gallons Per Day (IGPD). Phase One included disassembling the Plant and Phase Two, which is well on its way, involves installing new and modern equipment with a new Control System.

Hon. Fraser confirmed that a lot of work has been ongoing at the Plant in the last few months.

“We are now running on one of two Trains, having had to abandon and cannibalize one Train to keep the other running,” he declared.

The Plant Manager reported that his team was basically focusing on the safety aspect of the Plant. “There was great concern for danger due to the advanced stage of deterioration, so currently we have on hand both a local welding company and a local machine shop working on building and installing new racks to support the equipment for the first of two Trains.”

The Manager said on completion of the rebuilding project, there will be two new Vessel Trains with a more advanced membrane type, two new state-of-the-art Energy Recovery Systems, new High Pressure Pumps and a new Computer Software Package. He said the only part of the original system that could have been retained was the wells, which they ended up having to clean.

According to the Consultant, when this work is completed, the operation of this Plant will be fully automated, since all the sensors will once again be functional. He further assured that there will be no need for full-time manning and overseeing of the operation.

The Minister of Communications and Works said the operating cost to Government is miniscule when compared to the benefits to be derived when the rebuilding of the Baugher’s Bay Water Plant is completed. He calculated a monthly projected net savings to Government of $348,833.00.