Leaking sewage fouled the Christiansted area again Wednesday, a few days after the expiration of a federal court-imposed deadline requiring the government to have most of the wastewater system fully operational.
Public Works Commissioner Harold Thompson Jr. stated in a release that a temporary four-inch pump at the LBJ Pump Station just west of downtown Christiansted had failed, forcing the department to discharge sewage into the sea.
The same pump failed last month. It is being used while Public Works repairs the pump station. Thompson said he expected it to be fixed on Thursday.
The Department of Planning and Natural Resources in Watergut was forced to close because of the million-gallon-a-day spill. On Wednesday, Dean Plaskett, who heads the department, said the sewage flood had begun at about 4 p.m. on Monday, July 3.
That is three days after District Court Judge Thomas Moore ordered Public Works to have all three of the permanent pumps at the LBJ station in full operation. In his final order of May 30, Moore said that if Public Works missed agreed-upon deadlines, officials could be held in contempt of court.
Calls to Moore’s chambers Wednesday were not returned. However, sources familiar with the case who requested their names not be used said Public Works has applied for extra time to make some of the mandated fixes.
The department has reportedly received a month's extension, to July 31, to complete work in the dry well area of the LBJ Pump Station.
The temporary pump that has been breaking down was put in place to handle the flow of sewage while the worn-out valves in the 28-year-old facility are being replaced. Public Works was ordered to install a larger temporary pump by July 3, but asked for an extension into August.
Moore refused and told the department to have the new pump paid for by July 12.
The present four-inch temporary pump can handle sewage from Christiansted and points east, but only if are no heavy rains. If it fails, sewage backs up in Christiansted and must be discharged in the sea beyond Long Reef, as is now being done.
The federal court also ordered that the Figtree Pump station, which was spilling more than 1.5 million gallons of raw sewage a day into the Caribbean, be in full operation by June 30, along with 24-hour remote telemetry monitoring of the pump stations.
The stations have been equipped with the electronics but have not been functional. Court sources said inspections to check whether the June 30 deadline had been met have not been completed.
The federal Environmental Protection Agency reported earlier this year that because of the problems at LBJ and Figtree, which began in August and November of 1999 respectively, more than 225 million gallons of untreated sewage have flowed into the Caribbean Sea. The number has increased by millions of gallons since February and was the impetus behind the court order.
To view a copy of Moore’s April order, click here.
