Submitted by the Barbados Association of Professional Engineers (BAPE)
The Barbados Association of Professional Engineers (BAPE) issues three press releases:-
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The Barbados Association of Professional Engineers (BAPE) issues three press releases:-
Hi Artax
No disagreements here. But lack of an efficient maintenance program would constitute an engineering issue. Such a program would have been prescribed by the plant designers and indeed was enforced during the warranty period.
Systemic failure is much much worse.
We have adopted a structure that almost guarantees failure – except in the once-in-a-lifetime instance where we can find an almost perfect dictator in chief,
Management systems need to be dynamic, self-correcting, state of the art, and accountable. Such management cannot be found via popularity contests. We must systematically seek out and recruit the very best talent available – and then hold that talent to the highest possible standards.
The National Transport Infrastructure Authority, which BAPE proposed to address the pot hole problem, is an a ample of such a management structure.
Our current political system guarantees continued pot holes and other failures.
BAPE President February 21, 2018 at 7:31 PM #
“The National Transport Infrastructure Authority, which BAPE proposed to address the pot hole problem, is an a ample of such a management structure. Our current political system guarantees continued pot holes and other failures.”
BAPE President
In MY opinion, your “National Transport Infrastructure Authority (NTIA)” is an excellent idea…….and with so many vehicles on the roads……..road taxes should be allocated to fund that entity.
But I will go a bit further and suggest that those individuals that have roads blocked with derelict vehicles should be fined or the vehicles sold and the funds realized also be allocated to the NTIA.
The primary objective of the project is to bring the near-shore waters on the south coast to a bacteriological standard that corresponds to the accepted international standards and to reduce the chemical contamination affecting the reefs, marine life and beaches.
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If this was the primary objective the project was a catastrophic failure.
The Bank that financed it needs to investigate the reasons.
For me the problem is the Bank may be complicit.
I don’t like the rapidity with which 12.9 million was advanced to dig a well.
I am not a geologist yet I know there is something wrong.
It almost looks like an act of desperation to be seen to be doing something.
This is one of those issues where the responsible institutions need to stand up tall and be counted.
Let the chips fall as they may.
My gut tells me there are people who need to be fired or prosecuted, …. not only politicians.
“If this was the primary objective the project was a catastrophic failure.”
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How can one determine “the project was a catastrophic failure,” without taking into consideration that:
“As part of the preparation of the proposed project, diagnostic studies were carried out from June to September 1992, using IDB financing, to determine whether the near-shore waters on the south coast exceed the bacteriological standards (faecal coliforms and streptococci) established by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and whether the chemical standards are consistent with a healthy coastal marine environment.”
“COMPREHENSIVE SAMPLING was carried out in two phases: a pilot phase for four beaches over a 30-day period and the final sampling of ten beaches over a 60-day period. The sampling was BASED on PROTOCOLS PREVIOUSLY APPROVED by the Bank. The results were then analyzed to verify their statistical significance.”
It seems as though the allocades being bestowed upon you by members of your “fan club”and wanting to further impress them are perhaps afffecting your ability to think rational and reasonable.
How do 1992 sampling results as preparation for the project relate to the primary objective outcome of the project … ie at project completion some years later?
Isn’t your extract simply saying the nearshore waters were established to be contaminated before the project was begun and this justified the funding for the project?
Was the IADB saying we will advance funds in order that the near shore waters can be improved?
We have three advisories … Canada, the UK and the USA … in effect.
Do you think the quality of the near shore waters has been improved?
Let me ask it more simply …. Will you go and frolic in the nearshore waters next time the two ministers take to the waves to demonstrate there is no problem?
John December 5, 2016 at 10:10 PM #
So long as raw sewage is pumped into the swamp the whole intention of reducing the fecal coliform levels in near shore waters is defeated.
A typical Zone 1 buffer around a pumping station gives an idea of how far bacteria can travel before its concentration will decay to safe levels.
Just take the distance from the ABC highway to the Belle pumping station as a guide for the distance away from a pumping station “development” is allowed.
You quickly realise that if a pumping station were to be put in the near shore waters the sewage plant would probably be in the Zone 1 buffer …. its a crude measure and I stand to be corrected.
The monies borrowed and paid to the contractors to build the South Coast Sewage System have thus been misspent and our leaders need to be held to account.
We all know our inglorious leaders got a cut too!!
At the moment the only way to redeem the investment is to make the sewage plant work perfectly, perhaps even consider putting a secondary system as a backup so that there is no way raw sewage gets into the swamp.
I am willing to bet there is already backup but if not then it should be provided.
No engineer is going to design a system like that without backup.
I think the long term goal should be to remove the sluice gate and let the sea and lake figure out their respective levels on their own with no man made interference.
Nobody needs to go shooting in the swamp in these days.
But that can only happen if the sewage plant never breaks down or if there is a failsafe backup to avoid dumping raw sewage into the swamp.
…. and if both do breakdown, our leaders need to be given buckets and a moses so they can transport the crap out to sea for disposal at a safe distance from shore.
David December 6, 2016 at 6:46 AM #
Exchanges between Denis Kellman MP and the public:
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Look in the same thread from two years ago.
Here is Liz
Liz Thompson Actually Denis, the planning for the South Coast Sewerage Plant was done by Brandford Taitt not Mia Mottley. Perhaps you will get an opportunity to ask him why a primary plant was built.
The answer is though, that that is what the IDB was prepared to fund. The plant does have the capacity to be stepped up to tertiary.
Perhaps the real issue is why you’ll chose to ignore her when she was cautioning that urgent attention was needed at the plant
…. and Kelli
Denis Kellman Now you see why they blamed me for not accepting the IDB’s money to build toilets better than the kitchen and bedroom , with space between the house and the toilet.
… and in between an irate member of the public
Charles Gill These politicians so freaking childish and wicked all wanna promise to fix problems did nothing and only excuse each time is who build this or that blame game childish bunch a thiefing cunts all wanna want locking up only gd at wasting and stealing what little left if this economy bunch a users .
I know that I’m not as brilliant as you are…….
………..but my stupid common sense tells me that, since the plant fell under the jurisdiction of the BWA, their relevant experts would have used the sampling results as a basis to introduce precautionary measures, “proactively” continued the sample testing and monitoring the plant and its environs as time goes by, while making attempts to provide for all possible contingencies (e.g an increase in sewage)………..
………..rather than being reactionary as is the current situation.
In other words, the sample testing and other pre-plant initiatives provided a base from which monitoring the plant, sewage etc could have progressively taken place over random periods of time.
Then again…….I’m not a sewage plant expert and not much sense is expected from someone that does not know the difference between the stock market and the economy.
Since you read the IADB loan contract and associated documents and you’re more knowlegable about sewage plants and environmental issues than I am……….. I’ll have to accept your opinions as being correct.
Just a reminder……. the following you refered to a “my extract,” was taken from the IADB/Ministry of Health document:
“The primary objective of the project is to bring the near-shore waters on the south coast to a bacteriological standard that corresponds to the accepted international standards and to reduce the chemical contamination affecting the reefs, marine life and beaches.”
Artax
This issue did not suddenly raise its head.
If you look at the Graeme Hall Report from the Professional Engineer in Florida from 8 years ago, 2010, there was a problem with sewage being pumped into the swamp.
What we see is a progressive deterioration of the situation.
More and more “dirty water” appears on the streets.
The only time I saw it completely disappear was when they “drained the swamp” in late December last year.
When they did that the country got travel advisories from the government of the countries where our tourist market lies.
My area is electrical and electronics.
The neat thing in this area is that the vast majority of problems manifest themselves almost immediately, they don’t linger.
It works or it does not work.
There are some …. an intermittent connection once took me a year to track down because then it was disturbed a good connection resulted and the equipment worked fine.
Here this problem is lingering and deteriorating.
Even the Tide seems to have an effect.
There is something fundamentally wrong with this system.
I have worked enough in construction to know the processes of design, specification, tender, construction, debug, buyoff … the result is always a project completed which satisfies its original objective whatever that may be.
This is not about who is bright or who is not and who can spot the problem …. this is about a catastrophic failure.
The problems cannot hide and, there are too many problems.
…. the amazing thing is that the Oistins to plant half of the input does not seem to have a problem.
The major difference is the half that goes to Bridgetown also has in an output effluent line.
But there are other significant differences but these cannot be described as being unforeseen.
There is something wrong at source, either in the design and specification or the implementation … or both.
Look at the Barak building in Warrens …… a disaster from inception because as far as I can see the engineer did not take into account the cave(s) under it and underdesigned the foundation.
We then had to look for $84 million for the contractor. God only knows how that money was split.
I seem to remember there was a collapse at BS&T motors as well because of a cave. Think a man died.
We are not going anywhere because we have people who are not doing their jobs properly …. and it is costing us big bucks.
The Sewage debacle is an opportunity to expose and hopefully put to rest the utter disaster that has been visited upon us.
Nobody can sweep it under the rug!!
I am not trying to shield BWA, it has its problems.
It was given a lemon to keep running, if my gut instinct is right.
Sewage/effluent in the streets increasing?
Consistent with continuing failure.
Why not in the half up to Oistins?
Progressive failure of the system from Graeme Hall to Hilton …. there will come a time when it will be impossible to operate
Maybe the section from the plant to Hilton will cease to be functional
But that contains the effluent pipe.
No use sending the Oistins – Graeme Hall sewage to the plant unless an outfall from Graeme Hall is built.
I can envisage an alternative and will spend some time researching it … could be a good business opportunity, win/win.
Ror the moment, owning a sewage business with trucks to remove it will in the forseeable future be a goldmine … if it has not happened already!!
Wonder if the GOB will get into the business too … if members haven’t done so already!!
My geologist buddy is telling me injecting sewage into the limestone is “Nuts”!!
It will get to the sea!!
However, it could be put in empty pockets in the sedimentary rocks from which oil has been extracted!!
Don’t know if oil was extracted wherever they are drilling the 300 foot well.
The British Union Oil Company did have leases to drill all over Barbados 100 years ago.
My guess is that while the 300 feet is probably deeper than the basal contours it won’t be close to the depths from which oil is extracted.
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I seeing video on the net suggesting wells not working … overflowing
Anyone seen that?