Major water plant upgrades
not expected to hamper supply
By Alita Singh
SIMPSON BAY--Residents all too familiar with low water pressure or no water through their taps at all, can rest easy because the upgrades to the Cay Bay water production units in the coming weeks are not expected to cut supply, Air-Fin Boss Willem Barendsen said Tuesday.
Discussing the formidable task of revamping the old water plant on the eve of opening the new Cupecoy production plant, Barendsen told The Daily Herald maintaining its contractual water supply obligations was Air-Fin’s first priority.
The new plant that began producing 3,700 cubic metres of water in January will be officially opened today. According to its contract, Air-Fin must produce 3,000 cubic metres of water at this plant daily. The additional 700 cubic metres is extra capacity that Barendsen had put in place for future needs. However, instead of being idle, the plant is pumping out water at full capacity and every last drop is being consumed.
Before the plant was built, the just over 11,000 cubic metres of water from the Cay Bay plant fell very short of the increasing demand. Often, with high demand or maintenance issues, the storage tanks supplies would quickly become depleted leaving residents to horde water or make do with very little.
To minimise water supply disruptions and shortfalls, the large water production unit at Cay Bay will be the first to be taken off line while the smaller units continue to make water via the reverse osmosis system. “It’s an unbelievable job to accomplish. We have to change about 100 membranes, redo the electrical and install energy saving equipment,” Barendsen said.
The US $14 million upgrading project was slated to take six months based on a first assessment before the plant was taken over from the previous water supplier, Enerserve, a company Barendsen ran originally, before taking early retirement. However, after the water plant was turned over to Air-Fin in mid-February and the extent and magnitude of the work became apparent, the schedule was revised. Now, all work should be wrapped up by year-end, if not earlier.
Refusing to delve into the reasons for the condition of the plant, Air-Fin’s boss said his main concern was keeping up the water supply and ensuring that by year-end the plant would have the capacity for an additional 3,500 cubic metres daily. The plant had the equipment to produce this volume of water, but lack of managed maintenance was probably the reason for the shortfall, he pointed out.
Focusing on the upgrade, Barendsen said that when the water plant was fully back on line, it would be “more energy efficient” with equipment that pulled less electricity. Although this type of equipment costs more money, in the long run the company is poised to recoup its investment in a decreased electricity bill. He emphasised that water users would not see any increase in their bills to cover the investment, because Air-Fin sold water to government at a fixed contracted price.
Giving his take on Air-Fin’s debut on the island to rival Enerserve, Barendsen said that when he had retired some years ago he had had no intention of returning to the water business. Leaving Enerserve, he advised his successor to work on a longer-term contract with government to sell water at a cheaper price. For some reason, this was never done.
After spending time as an advisor and handling water issues in Curaçao and Bonaire, Barendsen said his sights had been turned to St. Maarten to see the possibility of offering water at a better price.
The idea was welcomed by Utilities Commissioner Roy Marlin, but he stipulated that a public tender was necessary before the contract would be awarded. The tender was carried out with Enerserve, Air-Fin and General Electric facing off. Air-Fin emerged the winner with the best price and commenced construction of the new high tech plant in Cupecoy that was built in a record six months.
Enerserve was selling water to government at US $1.55 per cubic metre, which price included a loan the company gave government to build water storage tanks. When Air-Fin took over the water production, it paid off the pending loan and is selling water at $0.20 less than Enerserve.
The biggest challenge for the island now is keeping production in pace with development. In the past, due to the booming construction of condos and other buildings, the water capacity was not sufficient to meet the demand, Barendsen said.
To avoid a reoccurrence in the future, government is drafting a plan of action that covers the island’s projected water needs for the next 20 years. This plan includes a further decentralising of the production operation with a water plant planned for somewhere on the Eastern side of the island.
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