Project launched to improve water service

More than 82,000 Barbadian customers will soon benefit from a more reliable and much improved quality water supply.

Residents living in St John and St George will also experience less frequent shutdowns at the Bowmanston Pumping Station during heavy rainfall.

These were among the expected outcomes of a multi-million-dollar Barbados Water Infrastructure Upgrade Project announced today by Minister of Energy and Water Resource Management Wilfred Abrahams.

He said the project, which is being funded through the Latin American Development Bank (CAF) and the European Investment Bank (EIB), will allow for the upgrade and modernization of the Barbados Water Authority (BWA) to overcome some of its recurring challenges

The Minister said the main objective of the project – to reduce and control unaccounted-for water losses – was developed through many collaborative missions by CAF, the EIB and the BWA, dating back as far as 2015.

Abrahams said that objective will be achieved through the rehabilitation and optimisation of existing storage, pumping and pipework infrastructure, as well as long-term planning to improve climate change resilience and sustainability over a four-year period.

“Under the pre-investment component, the development of a Master Plan will facilitate the Government of Barbados in the provision of a roadmap to determine the sustainability of the water and sanitation sectors which will take the changing climate conditions into account,” he stated.

“In the investment works component, we will see the improvement of reliability and quality of service to over 82 000 customers as well as upgraded working conditions for the BWA staff associated with improvements to security and occupational safety. This will be accomplished through the repair and reconstruction of storage tanks and provision of additional equipment at reservoirs and pumping stations at 12 locations across Barbados.”

The Minister said that in order to address improved quality of delivery in both potable and non-potable water areas, “the project will introduce additional upgrades to equipment at both wastewater treatment plants as well as the implementation of a turbidity control system in the Bowmanston catchment which should also facilitate a direct reduction in the shutdowns required during heavy rainfall events”.

He added that in keeping with the country’s mandate to achieve a greener economy, the project will achieve further reduction in the amount and intensity of greenhouse gas emissions through the installation of an electrical turbine to be powered by natural gas for one of the major potable water stations.

Abrahams said it will also facilitate improved operating efficiencies and reduction in non-revenue water through the replacement of 16 km of mains in St John, St George, St Peter, St Andrew and St Lucy.

“The final component, which addresses project management, will see opportunities for locals to be involved in this area for the implementation of the project as well as the opportunity for local and international engineering firms to participate in detailed engineering designs of the investment works as well as the supervision works during execution,” he said.

However, Abrahams acknowledged that starting the project was not without its challenges. He noted that there were significant delays in the finalisation of the loan agreement.

“To a large extent, this was due to issues with the financial position of the country’s economy prior to the change in administration in May 2018,” he said.

Abrahams explained that, since then, the ministers and officials of the Ministry of Finance, Economic Affairs and Investment, the Ministry of Home Affairs and his Ministry, had been working tirelessly in repositioning the country’s finances in general and detailing arrangements specifically, to made the loan agreement possible.

“This effort involving Barbados Government officials, the Chairman, Board of Directors, Management and staff of the BWA, coupled with the efforts of both lending agencies, have finally brought us to this milestone,” he stated.
emmanueljoseph@barbadostoday.bb