Hon Fraser vindicated on Biwater; Sewage will stop being pumped to sea after 35 years!
The project, a Water Purchase Agreement, which had its many critics- the chief among them being the National Democratic Party (NDP)- included providing water on Tortola 24 hours, along with providing two sewage treatment plants free of cost once the company started to pump water to homes.
Biwater BVI, which was sold some months ago to the Florida based Seven Seas Water Corporation, kept its promise and delivered the two sewage treatment plants, saving the cash strapped NDP Government over five million dollars.
Hon Fraser, who bore the brunt of the criticisms over the project, ensured that the vexing issue of raw sewage being pumped out to sea and running in the streets of Road Town, the capital city, was also addressed as part of the project and today many see him as the real hero when coming to addressing sewage on Tortola, the main island of the British Overseas Territory.
No more raw sewage at sea, thanks to Hon Fraser
One of the sewage treatment plants was completed in Paraquita Bay and the other at Burt Point in the Road Reef area of lower Road Town.
This sewage treatment plant pushed for by Hon Fraser will make history, for once commissioned in a few weeks, will see for the first time in 35 years the halting of raw sewage being pumped out to sea in the Slaney area, which has also affected the Sea Cows Bay and Nanny Cay bays.
Biwater’s Mr Richard F. Smith, who remained on island to see this project to completion, told our newsroom in an exclusive interview that the plants are in the commissioning phase, Burt Point and Paraquita Bay. The commissioning phase began three weeks ago, he said.
“It’s at the commissioning phase at the moment. The plant at Paraquita Bay is also being commissioned…. It’s going through a wet commissioning as there are lots of water…”
Mr Smith said the sewage plant at Road Reef is a 425 Kilowatt plant designed to treat sewage for a 15, 000 population.
While the sewage treatment plant at Burt Point will be the first to come on stream, as the infrastructural and pipe works are nearing completion, it remains unclear when the pipe works for the Paraquita Bay sewage treatment plant will be done.
Under the Water Purchase Agreement, the Government of the day is responsible for the infrastructural works to connect the pipes to the treatment plant and to make home connections to the public sewerage system.
Environmentalist praise this new development
A senior officer with the Conservation and Fisheries Department, the agency whose mandate is to protect and regulate the environment, who wished not to be named, hailed the news of raw sewage to cease from being pumped into the ocean at Slaney as a victory for the local environment.
The officer said: “it means that the corals in that immediate area will start to grow, and after a year or so people will be able to swim and fish in that area. The officer confirmed that raw sewage in that area had a negative effect on the immediate ecosystem over the many years and has affected many species of marine life.
A few months ago, the NDP Government approved the sale of the Biwater operations in the Virgin Islands to Seven Seas Water Corporation. However, the terms and condition of the sale have not been disclosed to the public or the media.
Under the Biwater Agreement negotiated by the VIP, after 16 years the plant would have been turned over to the Government and people of the Virgin Islands.
The cost of water was put at $12.90 per 1000 gallons with Biwater required to produce 2.3 million gallons of water daily. The agreement had come at a time when Government was being billed as high as $24.00 per 1000 gallons.
The Biwater Agreement, which was for 16 years, was for Biwater to build a new desalination plant capable of producing 2.3 Million Imperial gallons of post-treated water per day; together with the installation of a new 500,000 gallon reservoir, and the rebuilding of the existing 500,000 gallon reservoir at Sabbath Hill.
And additionally, construct two new sewerage treatment facilities, one at Burt Point and the other at Paraquita Bay on Tortola; repair and rebuild sewerage pumping stations in Road Town, and lay some 6,000 feet of sewer mains.
The agreement with Biwater was known as a Build Own Operate and Transfer (BOOT) agreement, where the water plant would have been handed over, free of cost, in good working condition to Government at the end of the 16-year period.
.png)
Follow Us On
33 Responses to “Hon Fraser vindicated on Biwater; Sewage will stop being pumped to sea after 35 years!”
how can Frazer and biwater be given any credit for this development when Fraser is no longer the Minister for works and biwater no longer operate in the BVI( that company have been sold)..its was under the ministry of Frazer that sewage continued to be pumped in to Occean(Frazer had 3-terms in office and did nothing); as a matter of fact it was under Virgin Island Party that year after year for 35 years the sewage was pumped into the sea;;;;now talk this; within 8 years the National Democratic party have been working to correct this problem and to the best of my knowledge Fraser is no member of the NDP administration (talk this, VIP had 30 years to fix the problem but did nothing don't forget we had raw sewage running through the streets of road town and green land for years under Fraser and his government UNTIL the NDP fix that sewage problem just before election....
Here is how Fraser can be given credit even though he is no longer the Minister..... If a woman becomes pregnant for a man and they break up and she gone to live with another man..... "Who is the father of the child"?
Was just being rhetorical in answering that f**l "wise up" who trying to give he NDP buddies credit for Fraser's work