By YOURI KEMP
Tribune Business Reporter
ykemp@tribunemedia.net
The Water and Sewerage Corporation (WSC) yesterday conceded that efforts to rebuild Treasure Cay’s sewerage system have been hit by “procurement and shipping delays” in COVID-19’s aftermath.
The state-owned water supplier, responding to Tribune Business inquiries after residents of the Abaco community complained about the rate of progress on the Treasure Cay Sewerage System Rehabilitation Project (TCSSRP), said the delays were “justifiable” and largely beyond its control following the award of a works contract in May 2022.
“In March 2022, following a competitive bidding process, Water & Sewerage Corporation engaged APEX Underground Utilities and Construction Company to install new sewer force mains, 14 lift stations, and upgrade the pump station electrical supplies from single phase to three phase power, which is more efficient for heavy industrial scale electronic equipment,” the water supplier said.
“The contract amount for the project was $2.433m (VAT included). The project commenced on May 25, 2022, and the projected original completion date was December 30, 2022. As of December 8, 13 of the 14 lift station wet wells have been installed (Top Cider, Sand Dollar, main Roundabout, Rock Point, administration, Garden Villas, sales office, Harbour House, marina roundabout, Royal Palm, Marina Cove, Ocean Villa 2, Ocean Villa 1) throughout Treasure Cay.
“Approximately 65 percent of the sewer force main has been installed. Eight of the 14 lift stations have been connected to the force main and three are being prepped for connection,” the Water & Sewerage Corporation continued.
“Bahamas Power & Light (BPL) has now provided three-phase power to nine of the 14 pumping stations. Of the remaining five stations, four are being co-ordinated with BPL to receive three-phase power supply from a nearby power pole or transformer, and [for] one station BPL has a three-phase transformer on site ready for installation.
“Since commencement, the project has experienced justifiable delays beyond the control of the Water & Sewerage Corporation, BRON, the project’s engineering consultant, and the contractor.
“As per similar projects post COVID-19, the Treasure Cay project had experienced both material procurement and shipping delays,” the state-owned utility added.
“However, the majority of the lift stations have previously been delivered to Abaco, and more recently the last lift station was delivered to the project and has been secured in the project laydown yard. The only materials that await shipment prior to final commissioning are the three-phase meter cans and disconnect switches required to start the lift stations.
“This was due to a backlog from the suppliers, who advised that these components should be available in the beginning of January 2023. Additionally, unexpected underground conditions and utilities needed to be accounted for.
“There were also unforeseeable weather delays, including Hurricane Nicole and other similar tropical formations, which resulted in approved project completion timelines.”
Treasure Cay residents have been without a functioning sewer system since Hurricane Dorian devastated the island in 2019. Currently, homeowners have to manually pump their sewage on a daily basis and one missed pump can spell disaster for the community.
The homeowners have also donated more than $300,000 to the Water & Sewerage Corporation to have the problem rectified.
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