Grand Bahama Utility Company Limited is making steady headway towards return of potable water throughout the island after the impact of catastrophic Hurricane Dorian
#Freeport, GB, November 11, 2019 – Bahamas – .The Grand Bahama Utility Company Limited (GBUC) confirms steady progress towards our full return to potable water on the island of Grand Bahama. Prior to the onset of Hurricane Dorian, tap water provided to the community of Grand Bahama was below 600 ppm (salt particle content per million parts of water), which bettered by a large margin the 1,000 ppm World Health Organization (WHO) standard for consumption. In certain other jurisdictions, 1,500 ppm is considered an acceptable level.
In addition to the damaged pumping stations, which were brought
back on line within 5-7 days of the storm to restore the island’s running water
‘distribution’, the wrath of Hurricane Dorian compromised the island’s ‘supply’
of fresh salt-free water in Wellfields 1, 3, 6, comprising some 220 wells in
total, which account for 35%, 5% and 60% (respectively) of water being supplied
throughout the island. Wellfields 1
& 3 were flooded with 4 ft. of sea water, while Wellfield 6 was flooded
with 21 ft. of sea water for a period of 36 hours during and after the
treacherous storm. The flooding
destroyed the entire vertical infrastructure including utility poles, wires,
electrical components, control and motoring systems.
Utility Engineering Manager, Remington Wilchcombe said, “Once
the flood water had subsided at Wellfields 1 & 6, our team immediately enacted
an action plan to restore water supply.
An assessment was conducted to determine the impact to the systems. One
of the wells tested at 25,000 ppm, which is close to the salinity of sea water
at 35,000 ppm. Results a few days later
revealed that the average reading per well was 8,000 ppm in both Wellfields 1 &
3 and 9,000 ppm in Wellfield 6.”
Post assessment, mechanics were recruited to bring back-up
systems into service. Once back-up
systems were restored, the GBUC was able to begin rationing fresh water
reserves into the system 5 days after the storm.
Simultaneously, the GBUC began working with Sanitation Services
Company Limited to conduct clean-up efforts within the Wellfields.
Simultaneously, Grand Bahama Power Company Limited was conducting repairs and working
to regenerate the power systems at Wellfields 1 & 6. Additionally, industrial partners including
the Grand Bahama Shipyard, Bahamas Industrial Technologies Ltd., Martin
Marietta Aggregates – Bahama Rock, and Freeport Container Port, were all
contributing resources to the restoration by providing technical service and physical
support in manpower and equipment to return the plant to service.
Early September tests indicated the average salinity reading per
well had improved with Wellfield 1 down to 6,000 ppm, Wellfield 3 at 2,500 ppm,
and Wellfield 6 reduced to 7,000 ppm. By September 30th, the average
salinity reading per well had improved with Wellfield 1 at 4,000 ppm, Wellfield
3 reduced to 2,000 ppm, and Wellfield 6 still showing the highest salinity
content of 6,000 ppm.
Mr. Wilchcombe stated, “In an effort to ensure the speediest
process for restoring potable water, we enlisted international services to perform
a first phase Hydrological Study to provide further testing and recommendations
relating to the movement, and physical
and chemical composition of the water.” Water & Earth
Sciences, Inc. conducted a Resistivity Test, which
assesses the level of salt water existing in the water lens. The results confirmed that 99% of the
Wellfields were inundated with sea water, which compromised the water
quality. Further, it was determined that
all of the Wellfields had varying layers of salt water, brackish water and
fresh water.
A second assessment was conducted by The
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO),
which included the areas of Freeport City and East End. The results confirmed findings provided by Water
& Earth Sciences, Inc. noting that the
Wellfields had significant sea water incursion.
A third assessment was conducted by Dr.
Yakov Livshitz from the Hydrological Service of Israel, which again included the areas of Freeport City and
East End. First, their team visited the
island to gather samples for testing to determine the porous nature of the
limestone. The results were analyzed and
a follow-up visit ensued. Second, a detailed
assessment to locate fresh water lenses in the current Wellfields was carried
out. Flow rates were tested to determine
the time frame and restoration rate.
Finally, a survey was conducted to find additional fresh water lenses
outside of the Wellfields to extract or supply fresh water. As a result, fresh water was found in some
high elevated areas. However, the
capacity is not known at this time.
Geron Turnquest, General Manager of the GBUC said, “A second phase
Hydrological Study must be carried out to validate and confirm the capacity of
the fresh water lenses that were found for the development of new Wellfield
locations. The most feasible approach, currently underway, is to bypass various
higher salt content wells in Wellfield 6 with additional fresh water reserves
further East, and to revive and develop Wellfield 4, which has been out of
service for a number of years.”
In light of current efforts to reduce water salinity to WHO
standards, the GBUC has also discussed the possibility of a Reverse Osmosis (RO)
System. Mr. Turnquest added, “We have
considered the possibility of introducing a large-scale Reverse Osmosis System. But we are advised that this presents
challenges. Despite it being an
expensive investment that will impact the cost of water to the consumer, it
will also take a minimum of three to four months to develop. By this time, we aim to have resolved this
salinity issue with new measures in place.
An RO system on this scale would only be needed if the possibility of
having no fresh water exists.” That
said, smaller backup RO systems in small modular units are very likely be part
of our plan to provide drinking water in the event of a future hurricane.
Assessments to date reveal a continuing decline in salinity
levels. Wellfield 1 is now 2,400 ppm,
Wellfield 3 is now ‘potable’ at 500 ppm, and Wellfield 6 is 3,600 ppm. Ian Rolle, President of the Grand Bahama Port
Authority says, “The GBUC is committed to resolving the issue of salinity
levels as a result of the tidal surge. The
actual water pressure and the volume pumped per day is back up to pre-storm
levels which is reassuring. Key infrastructure works are in progress and we continue
to confer with the experts to bring about the best and speediest return to our
pre-storm highest quality fresh water”.
Residents have been advised through public notices that the water can be used for sanitary purposes only and not for consumption. GBPA Chairman Sarah St George added, “We wish to emphasize that the water is clean and bacteria free. While we work to restore potable water, we have established a partnership between GBPA, GBUC, NEMA and several NGOs to provide free drinking water to local communities at water distribution sites island-wide. We are grateful to our NGO partners Isra-Aid, Samaritan’s Purse, Mercy Corps, Siemens, Resolve Marine, Water Mission, International Medical Corp, Operators without Borders, and ADRA. As salinity levels decrease naturally through rainfall and new wells come on line, we look forward to restoring a potable water supply through the island of Grand Bahama in the near future. We thank everyone in the community for their patience and understanding. We are on the right path to bringing our water back to its erstwhile pristineness.”
Release: Grand Bahama Port Authority
Photo Caption: “Dr.
Yakov Livshitz Senior member of the Hydrological Service of Israel visited
Grand Bahama and toured our well fields with the GB Utility Team to gauge salinity
levels and the pace of aquifer recovery. His initial findings were very encouraging.”
(Pictured from left: Remington Wilchcombe, Utility Engineering Manager and Dr.
Yakov Livshitz)