San Pedro's water
supply was rationed again this past week due to a malfunction in the
diesel-powered engine needed to drive the system at Belize Water Limited
(BWL), the island desalination plant. According to BWL Manager Jim
Kavanagh, one of the two diesel engines experienced a problem in the
"actuator", a lubricating mechanism in the engine's governor which, in
turn, determines the speed needed to pump water. Alerted to the fault, a
brand new backup electrical-powered motor was put into service, but this
unit failed to operate properly. Because of these factors, the
desalination plant was operating at half capacity and could not produce
enough fresh water to meet the island's usage. As a result, Belize Water
Services found it necessary to ration the community's water supply with
outages occurring throughout the weekend and lasting until Tuesday
morning.
According to Mr. Kavanagh, diesel mechanics from
GENTRAC (a diesel equipment company) that were flown in early Monday
morning, repaired the engine that same day. He made special mention of
the crew from Belize Electricity Limited and praised the fast response
they provided over the weekend when he requested assistance with a
suspected voltage problem in the electric motor. This was determined not
to be the source of the failure and further investigation of this motor's
malfunction continues.
Through this medium, Belize Water Limited
assures the community that plans are in place to upgrade the desalination
plant immediately following the Easter holidays. At that time, a
temporary unit will be installed to supply power to one half of the plant
enabling BWL to operate at full capacity and, at the same time, renovate
and improve their system. When the first half is completed, the unit will
be switched to power the alternate side, so that the entire plant may be
upgraded, providing increased reliability for consumers.
Reportedly, several professionals have assessed the
immediate needs of the plant. Consultants from Consolidated Water
Limited, the home office in the Cayman Islands, will also visit the
island's desalination plant to oversee this project to its completion.
Hopefully, the island's water woes will end when the project is
finished.
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