Water supply to be
boosted this week
~ Marlin switches on plant for potable water ~
CUPECOY--A simple tap of the finger on a small touch-screen panel hooked up to the new Air-Fin reverse osmosis water production plant in Cupecoy was all that was needed to start the process of converting salt water to drinkable water Sunday afternoon.
Public Utilities Commissioner Roy Marlin, who had spent much time at the water plant in recent days, was given the honour of turning it on for the first production of drinking water.
The production unit is still in the testing phase, so the first 3,700 cubic metres of water were flushed into Simpson Bay Lagoon, according to Air-Fin boss Willem Barendsen. The water quality will be tested by water distributor GEBE this week to ensure that the set standards, considered among the highest in the region, have been met before GEBE’s pump is switched on to start channelling the water to residents.
Barendsen said Air-Fin had been fulfilling its commitment to government and was looking forward to the final stage of the US $2.5 million water plant project: delivering the water needed by the community.
Happy with the progress of the water plant, Marlin said the island was only days away from having an increased water supply and an end to the shortage that has been plaguing residents since October.
Meanwhile, Barendsen is looking forward to upgrading the Cay Bay water plant in March when the contract with Enerserve N.V. comes to an end. Unlike the Cupecoy plant that is fed by three salt water wells, the one in Cay Bay is fed directly from the ocean. It can be offline for days in times of heavy swells or tropical storm systems, while the new plant can continue operations almost as normal.
The island has been in the grip of a water shortage so severe that at times for days some neighbourhoods had only air when taps were turned on. To mitigate the shortage, water is being bought from the French side. This supply will be disconnected once GEBE approves Air-Fin’s desalinated water.
