Maroc - NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - Hier 16:55

Desalcott resumes operations at Point Lisas plant

The Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) has announced the resumption of operations at the Point Lisas desalination plant following a planned shutdown for critical maintenance. The plant was restarted on November 16, a day ahead of schedule. In a release on Sunday, WASA advised customers in Central and South Trinidad who had been affected by the planned maintenance shutdown of the facility's restart at 5 pm on Saturday. The Authority said, "The Desalination Company of Trinidad and Tobago Ltd (Desalcott) owner and operator of the plant, has advised the Authority that production at the facility is currently being ramped up and is expected to continue towards attaining full production and delivery of 40 million gallons per day (mgd) by today - Sunday, November 17, 2024. "Customers are advised that the Authority will be working towards the gradual normalisation of its transmission and distribution system over the coming days. "In the interim, the Authority is working to service affected customers in keeping with the published temporary water supply schedules, as the system stabilises." Customers were encouraged to contact WASA's customer call centre on its toll free number at 800-4420/26. At a media conference at the at the Point Lisas plant on November 7, Desalcott's acting general manager Rajesh Ragoonanan said work during shutdown included cleaning tanks and wells, repairing cracked concrete infrastructure, repairing sludge-cleaning mechanism, upgrading the communication network, replacing meters and doing annual electrical transformer maintenance. Desalcott provides WASA with around 40 million gallons daily (mgd) to service customers in Central and South Trinidad, equating to around 40 per cent of the supply to the area. The shutdown, initially planned for September, was postponed at the request of the Minister of Public Utilities, Marvin Gonzales, owing to WASA's low reservoirs. In September, the Caroni/Arena reservoir was at 35.8 per cent, the Hollis reservoir at 32.7 per cent and the Navet reservoir at 45.4 per cent. The authority's acting CEO Kelvin Romain estimated between 300,000 and 350,000 people would have been affected by the shutdown. However, he said the authority had implemented contingencies to meet demand during the shutdown period. These, he said, include ramping up production at facilities like at Caroni and Navet water treatment plants, providing truck-borne water supply to customers with priority, to schools and health facilities and new water-supply schedules. He said while the schedule will be adjusted, the authority will not adjust the supply times for those on the extremities of its network, who receive water less frequently than others. While Ragoonanan said Desalcott would be able to return to full service within a few hours of the works' completion, Romain said it could take from 24 hours to a week for operations to return to normal. The post Desalcott resumes operations at Point Lisas plant appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.