Environment

3 min read

Algae disrupting operations at desalination plant

Customers in South and Central affected

Laura Dowrich-Phillips
March 24, 2023 02:16 PM ET
From left, John Thompson, General Manager of Desalcott, Kelvin Romain, Acting CEO, WASA and Shaira Ali, Director of Operations, WASA
From left, John Thompson, General Manager of Desalcott, Kelvin Romain, Acting CEO, WASA and Shaira Ali, Director of Operations, WASA
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Customers in Central and South Trinidad are currently experiencing interruptions in their water supply due to increased algae affecting operations at Desalcott.

Speaking at a news conference today, Descalcott’s General Manager John Thompson said an increasing amount of algae has forced a decrease in the amount of water the desalination plant can provide at this time.

He said since the plant came into operation they didn’t encounter any algae blooms until 2006 thanks to climate change and an increase in water temperatures.

“It’s particularly bad in the dry season in February and March. This year, it is lasting much longer and also much higher in quantity. Climate change generally has not helped. The last quarter of 2022 saw very heavy rainfall which washed a lot of vegetation, a lot of organics into the Gulf of Paria both from Trinidad and South America through the Orinoco River,” he said.

Thompson said they have to deal with the organics with chlorination and adding chemicals which makes it easier for them to move through the filtration and sedimentation systems. 

He said, however, that there is so much at the moment that their filtration systems are being clogged and the membranes need to be taken offline and cleaned.

He expressed hope that the algae blooms would reduce in quantity shortly thereby allowing the desalination plant to return to full capacity. Thompson said normally they produce 40 million imperial gallons of water a day but only produced 37 million imperial gallons per day in March.

He said one solution to the algae issue is to install a microfiltration system that would take about 12 months to install at a cost of millions of US dollars. He said in the interim, they are improving the back washing systems to clean the filters among other measures. He said there are several species of algae affecting the system.

Shaira Ali, Operations Director at the Water and Sewerage Authority said the areas currently affected by delayed schedules and low pressure are: Freeport, waterloo, California, Couva, Balmain, Dow Village, Claxton Bay, Pointe-a-Pierre, and parts of San Fernando.  She said water from more water-resilient areas is being diverted to supply the affected areas.

Other affected areas in the Southwest peninsula are Philippine, La Romaine, Hermitage, Otaheite, Rousillac and La Brea.

Kelvin Romain, Acting Chief Executive Officer of WASA, assured that affected areas are receiving truck-borne water to assist with any shortages as well.

He also spoke about a disruption in supply in Freeport due to a ruptured raw water main which will be repaired overnight.

He said the Freeport area has been of special interest to WASA and they started a series of projects under the capital investment programme where new wells would be added for an increased supply of water. 

He said drilling for three wells has begun and they are expected to be completed by July. The new wells would add 1.2 million gallons of water going into the Freeport plant. 

He said there are also plans to upgrade the plant which would also result in an increase in capacity.

Romain said by next year they hope to eradicate any shortfalls in supply from the Freeport plant.

 

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