$600M Wastewater Plant to Affect Future Viability of Buccoo Reef

Newly elected representative for Canaan/Bon Accord Tobago Rolly Quaccoo was among the very attentive audience at one of WASA's series of public consultations held on Tuesday 27th January at the Canaan/Bon Accord Community Centre. Other THA members included the Chief Administrator of THA, Mr. Keens-Dumas, and newly elected Secretary for Infrastructure and Public Utilities Godwin Adams. The meeting discussed the soon to be constructed TT$600 million integrated wastewater collection, treatment and disposal system.

The state-of-the-art facility has been on the back burner since 1994 and the delay in construction has not only cost the country an extra TT$400 million, but significant destruction to the Buccoo Reef Marine system could have been avoided had the original proposal been implemented over ten years ago.

(My feeling, though, is that had hoteliers been better corporate citizens, and had WASA been a better "public servant", there was no way all that filth would have been allowed to run into the oceans for so many years and sabotage the very environment that feeds Tobago ... but I digress)

The aim is to connect 100% of the residents and businesses in the southwest Tobago area (which includes the areas from Crown Point to Scarborough, Bacolet, and Plymouth) and treat all waste water before it is disposed of, off the coast of the island.

The long term construction and connection activities are expected to be done with the use of new technology to reduce environmental impact (e.g. "trench-less drilling") and there will be monitoring and evaluation throughout the process, in order to ensure as little a possible is done to disturb the environment. The strategic plan includes the establishment of a Community Liaison for lodging of complaints and resurfacing of areas immediately after pipe-laying, and re-use of final effluent for fire-fighting, irrigation/agricultural and industrial purposes.

Well, big talk...but we shall see.