How clean is the running water coming out of your tap or shower?
SIB raised the alarm last month following a testing that allegedly found the presence of E. Coli in drinking water in Belize.
Immediately after, Belize Water Services rejected and dispelled that finding, stating that none of the findings cited in their "MICS 7" report originated from BWS's treatment or distribution system.
To further assure their customers BWS gave the media a tour of its main water treatment plants for the Belize District today. Jomarie Lanza was there:
The plant is designed to use gravity to pull the river water up into these pumps in order to start the treatment process. It happens on the hour and a series of testings must occur before the water can be distributed into the city for use. The raw water is screened, filtered, clarified, and still requires chemicals to remove all its impurities. BWS Water & Waste Water Systems Reina Gonzalez further explained what takes place here at this particular water Treatment Plant.
Reina Gonzalez, BWS Manager, Water & Waste Water Systems
"The Double run Water Treatment Plan it's purpose as said in the name we treat the raw water coming from the river and to ensure that we distribute potable water to our customers. So we treat the water here, we have 2 lines, one is a 14 inch which is the distribution line that takes the water directly to our customers from the Biscayne village all the way into the city Pallotti. Then we have also our 24 transmission line that takes water into the storage tanks at our headquarters which we label as our Southside area and at the Wilson street storage area as well, from there on the water is distributed to our Belize City and the South side covers all the way to 8 miles. So Southside distributes the whole of Southside Belize City and extends all the way to 6 miles. And Wilson street distributes to the north side of Belize City."
BWS extracts and treats water from 13 areas countrywide, but their main resources are not solely limited to just rivers, Gonzalez says that they extract from deep water wells, and out at the cayes they have reverse osmosis plants where they treat seawater and draw water from the Sea for treatment. Here at the Double Run plant they have a lab on site where they conduct rounds of testing both before and after the water has been treated to ensure that the right amount of chemicals like chlorine are being used. But even so at times people complain that after a leak or a break in the lines, the water comes out as if it is contaminated. Their Water Quality Compliance manager explained that it is all part of a flushing process in these cases.
Hugo Rancharan, BWS, Water Quality Compliance Manager
"Well the raw water no because obviously it is contaminated from that standpoint but when you go through the treatment process then yes we have to ensure that it is free from Pathogens before you consume the water and we do that by doing daily samples, doing the processes that we have both technically and technically sound in terms of allowing us to follow our SOPs etc and the guidelines that have been established for us to meet and exceed those guiltiness whenever we are doing our testing."
Reporter-
"There have been times when water reaches our sinks and it looks brown."
Hugo Rancharan, BWS, Water Quality Compliance Manager
"Not really that is just a part of any distribution system, that's why we have to ensure we have a good flushing system in place which we do have and to execute that as best as we could. So that, any water utility faces through that same thing in terms of having and ensuring they have good chlorine within their system so we do practice flushing, we do have to practice aggressively for us to ensure we have good quality coming out of the taps so those complaints will be forthcoming whenever we prepare a break or we do other expansion etc then those are parts of our procedure but we do ensure that as best as possible to minimize that for us to have good quality water by doing flushing."
Gonzalez affirms that the company is strict when it comes to meeting the international standards for potable water usage, and when it comes to testing. She says that they do have protocols set in place in the event that something does go wrong during the treatment process, but it has never happened and is highly unlikely.
Reina Gonzalez, BWS Manager, Water & Waste Water Systems
"That has never happened and it will not happen in the sense that the level of monitoring that BWS has set in place where at the plant as I mentioned it is an hourly process that we follow and if there is any abnormalities being identified in the raw water source then this is being brought to the attention of the committee and then we have procedures to work around that. Now that has not been the case as far as I am aware but we have processes already put into place if for any reason the water from the river comes with any contamination then what is going to be our action plan right and it can be for so many reasons and it can be so many different things that can come along with the raw water but we have processes put into place for that."
