Construction of St. John's new waste-water treatment plant, two years in the making, is 95 percent complete, according to project manager Carlos Aguilar of R&R Caribbean.
In a few days, with the approval of local and federal officials overseeing the project, Aguilar said, technicians will start testing the pumps, blowers and generators of the Enighed Pond plant. All systems must pass tests before the waste-water treatment facility can be activated, he said.
The Public Works and Planning and Natural Resources Departments and the federal Environmental Protection Agency and Army Corps of Engineers are jointly overseeing the work of creating a modern treatment facility to serve the needs of St. John's growing population. Although the plant is nearly finished, Aguilar said, he will not have a project completion date until the supervising agencies review the test results.
Ira Wade, Public Works deputy commissioner for St. John, said testing of the plant's outfall pipe also will get under way soon. Scuba divers will "go out and check the 2,300 feet [of the] outfall pipe for cracks or breaks," he said. "Once that is done, if the pipe system is found to be totally intact, they're going to put on a diffuser," he said.
The V.I. government is expect to assume operations at the plant by early December. According to Wade, a private firm is being contracted to oversee the operations for the first two years. He said a contractor has been chosen, but he deferred to Public Works Commissioner Harold Thompson Jr. to identify the company.
It will take 10 to 12 technicians and supervisors to run the plant. Successful applicants for positions will be sent off-island for training and certification in the operation of waste-water treatment facilities. Technicians will be trained to staff both the Enighed facility and another on St. Thomas in the Benner Bay area.
