Minister of Water Resource Management, Dr. David Estwick.
Barbados is moving full steam ahead with putting measures in place to facilitate the use of desalination water, which is aimed at helping to address the country’s chronic water issues.
Minister of Water Resource Management, Dr. David Estwick has announced that at least one commercial contract has already been signed and another is nearing completion, to establish two permanent salt water desalination plants on the island, which he said will have the capacity to each produce six million gallons of water per day. At a press conference on Friday afternoon at his Ministry, Estwick, who is also Minister of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries reiterated that the country can no longer depend on rainfall and groundwater for its potable water supply, and maintained that the potable water supply must be augmented by brackish water desalination and salt water desalination options.
On the topic of the proposed permanent plants, the Minister revealed that the first contract, which has been signed with Everclear Water Inc. and Osmoflow Australia, is to construct a desalination plant at Ealing Grove, Christ Church. He said once everything goes well that plant should come online in 2018. Additionally, he said the Barbados Water Authority (BWA) is far advanced in negotiation with IDE/JADA with regards to the construction of the second plant.
However, Minister Estwick is not only looking at the distribution of that water through the existing network, he is encouraging the operators of the desalination plants, once they are up and running, to look at water bottling plant capacity, so as to offer bottled water to the Barbadian public. Such a move, the Minister said would help to significantly reduce the importation of bottled water into the country and save foreign exchange.
Though the Minister insists that is not all the BWA is doing, he indicated that the intention is to increase the capacity of the present desalination plant at Spring Garden managed by Ionics Freshwater Limited, by three million gallons per day, and he further indicated, they will be restarting the Northern Upgrade Project. He explained that the commercial contract is with the BWA and the preparatory work to execute that increased capacity is ongoing. With that in mind, he stated the additional three million gallons will help to improve water supply in St. Peter,
St. Thomas and St. Joseph.
He also drew reference to the temporary brackish desalination plant that was commissioned at The Hope, St. Lucy recently, which produces 500 000 gallons of water per day, adding that a second such facility is to be established at Trents with the same capacity. Estwick said they are hoping to have that plant commissioned during the course of next month. (JRT)
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