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Fryes Beach Plant Faces Challenges

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Environment Articles
Monday, 04 March 2013 02:30
By caribarena news
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Fryes Beach Plant Antigua St. John's - APUA commissioned the reverse osmosis plant at Fryes Beach on November 30, 2011, with funding from the ALBA Grant, sponsored by the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.

It was intended to service the island’s southern communities, but sources close to the plant’s operations has said there were significant problems from the beginning.

In 2011, Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer said with the plant, APUA was definitely on the way to ensuring a sustainable supply of water.

APUA is responsible for producing six million gallons of fresh water annually to satisfy customers' needs. The Fryes Beach plant was poised to help maintain that constant supply.

“There was a lot of fanfare on the opening of the plant, but now it cannot process the water because it is not clean enough coming in from the sea,” said opposition MP Molwyn Joseph. “To run a desalination plant, the sea water must have a certain level of purity.”


Personnel in APUA’s communications department declined to comment on the matter.

The plant is said to be in water too shallow to facilitate smooth suction, with frequent disturbances caused by tides and weather.

Environmentalist Eli Fuller said the government was aware of the difficulties long before the 2011 commissioning, and that even the location was determined to be a bad one ahead of time.

According to Fuller, the government only put the plant at Ffyes after a bid to put it next to the Urlings fishing facility was met with opposition from the Fisheries Department.

“Instead of doing an extensive study to see if the area would be a feasible site for desalination, construction began at the same time that studies and test wells were being drilled,” Fuller said. “Well after well was drilled without and success.

Hydrogen sulphide was found in most of the wells and there was never a fast enough flow of water into the well from the surrounding material…”

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5 Comments In This Article   

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RE: Fryes Beach Plant Faces Challenges

#5 SPEED BUMP » 2013-03-04 16:57

Let us build a list of failed project. Just copy and paste this list into your post with your addition to the list:
1. Failed car park
2. Failed reverse osmosis plant
3. Failed library
4.
5.
6...
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.......
..........
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SPEED BUMP

RE: Fryes Beach Plant Faces Challenges

#4 Fed Up » 2013-03-04 09:18

This is common knowledge, the 'experts' at APUA were told by a real expert that the location of the plant was not suitable, the positioning of the main suction pipe to feed the plant was not far enough out and that they would have problems if they went ahead with the plant as it was designed. In true Antiguan fashion they chose to ignore the advice and now look at where we are. As a nation of beggars we should be more responsible in utilizing the money we beg, if we are going to ignore professional advice and just throw the begged money down the drain then let's just stop begging for it. This is 2013 people, get with the program !!
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Fed Up

We Like It So!

#3 Conscience » 2013-03-04 07:46

This is normal in Antigua and Barbuda! Actually this is no new news!
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Conscience

RE: Fryes Beach Plant Faces Challenges

#2 Piky Heat » 2013-03-04 07:26

more water shortage coming.
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Piky Heat

Planning!

#1 John French II » 2013-03-04 06:24

Notes From A Native Son Of The Rock! This mere voice has been suggesting that the country is devoid of planning much less Master Planning of its Infrastructure- Roads, Storm & Sanitary Sewers, Utilities - Electricity & Telecom, Water and Sanitation. We lurch from one crisis to the next with unending & predictable regularity. All of these Infrstructure Developments are funded through Loans yet no one gives a fig to ensure that the Peoples' Money is protected and Value for Money is a Criterion.
Both The MP & Entrepreneur Environmentalis t are asking questions that the Bureaucrats & Technocrats should have satisfied themselves with in their Due Diligence & Planning.
When CA first raised this issue in 2011, visited the site & was shocked at the sight of exposed intakelines running across the swamp in the water. A storm surge would be devastating. This met no good engineering practices.
We The People must take our Bureacrats & Technocrats to task. Folks must be reminded that they, not only have a Job with a paycheck, but are the builders of the Nation's Wealth & with that comes huge responsibilitie s to the People of The Country.
Oh Gad! Pray Fuh Mi Picknees!
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John French II

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