Hon. Fraser shocked at low levels of water production at BB!
Speaking in an exclusive interview with this news agency, Hon. Fraser stated that he was shocked to hear on ZBVI news the morning of February 24,2012, his successor, current Communications and Works Minister Hon. Mark Vanterpool, lamenting that the Baughers Bay Water Plant was not producing enough water.
“The water at the Baugher’s Bay Plant is something that we have concerns about. We are working at that. The plant is not producing as much as it produced before. It’s lower than the 1.3 million gallons a day. I think it’s down to 6 to 700,000 gallons a day, so it’s not sufficient water being produced. We have some issues with it in terms of how it’s being operated and we are looking at that. We had reports recently, even in Standing Finance by the Water and Sewerage Department on the matter...and as the Premier said in his budget speech, we are reviewing all of the water agreements and water operations,” Hon. Mark Vanterpool had revealed, in response to the insufficient water that is flowing through residents’ taps.
However, Hon. Fraser explained that he was shocked to hear that, after having intimate knowledge of the plant’s potential and capability.
“I can say that after one year of having possession of the plant it was fully operational as I first mentioned on March 11, 2011. On March 13, 2011, it was producing 1.1 million US gallons and subsequently readings would show that on August 1, 2011 it was producing 1 million US gallons, August 4 - 1.3 million US gallons, August 5 – 1.3 million US and the same [readings] for August 6 and 7. All these recording were made by me,” the former Minister divulged to Virgin Islands News Online.
Asked what could have caused the dip in the water production, Hon. Fraser, who is also the 3rd District Representative, replied “in my experience it has to be lack of proper maintenance”.
To achieve this, the former Minister highlighted that the membranes have to be flushed on schedule, filters have to be changed on schedule, the wells have to be monitored to ensure they are all functioning properly, which will result in proper suction pressures, proper membrane pressures, and ensures that the water quality is at appropriate levels.
“It is only then can the plant function properly, by dedicated monitoring and that was given by myself at one time and subsequently by Mr. [Ray] George,” Hon. Fraser added. “So anyone who is responsible for monitoring the plant must have the authority to engage the manufacturer [of the plant] in the United States to supply parts and materials, and when needed if required to travel to Tortola to inspect and if necessary to work on it.”
Furthermore, the 3rd District Representative stated that the individual must have the authority to interact with the local contractor – Aqua Design - at any time and “they must be able to command the schedule of the local staff, the manager of the plant must be on call 24/7 and monitor the plant remotely.
“Anything short of these things will see the plant producing less than adequate water, and I have these questions I want to ask Government, are all the wells functioning to their potential and when is the last time the membranes have been flushed?” Hon. Fraser asked.
If they are not done on a constant basis, the conductivity level goes up, which means the quality of water will be poor, he explained.
According to Hon. Fraser, the Water and Sewerage Department (W&SD) is tasked with the plant’s maintenance, but such a move is regressive.
“W&SD being responsible for the distribution of water will not have and don’t have the level of interest require for the production of water, couple with the lack of experience are also factors attributed to the low production levels of water,” the former Minister opined.
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