Soapberry: Solving the Corporate Area's sewage problems

Christopher Serju, Gleaner Writer

SINCE IT began operation in March 2008, the Soapberry Sewage Treatment Plant has been running 24 hours each day with no downtime. Possibly the largest sewage-treatment plant in the Caribbean, with a capacity of approximately 30 million cubic metres per year, the facility is set on 200 acres in a remote location in St Catherine.

Now operating at 50 per cent of its capacity, it will eventually serve an estimated 800,000 people from across Kingston, St Andrew, and St Catherine with the state-of-the-art facility served by the Nanse Pen and Greenwich pumping/transmission stations.

With plans by the National Water Commission (NWC) to rehabilitate the Darling Street pumping station and bring sewage from Greater Portmore online, eventually, Soap-berry is expected to be the solution to the Corporate Area's long-standing sewage-treatment problems.

Biological treatment

Sewage is screened at the pump/transmission stations at Nanse Pen and Greenwich, and by the time it gets to Soapberry, has been subjected to preliminary treatment.

At Soapberry, it undergoes biolo-gical treatment in the oxidation ponds, with natural treatment by bacteria and algae, which work together to break down the organic matter in the sewage. The effluent then goes through a tertiary treatment stage.

By the end of the treatment process, the fluid discharged into the Rio Cobre is considered safe, having met the standards set by the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA).

The plant is also integral to reducing raw-sewage output into Kingston Harbour, as it treats wastewater collected from a significant portion of the Corporate Area and St Catherine.

"We run our own laboratory and do our own testing in the ponds here to monitor the progress of the treatment, and that's how we monitor the treatment. We are meeting our requirements with regular reporting to NEPA," General Manager Moshe Saldinger told The Sunday Gleaner.

He explained that while rainfall increases the water volume, it also helps to dilute the sewage. There is no negative spin-off as the fluid is recirculated in the oxidation lagoons as a method of improving the efficiency of the treatment.

Given the nature of its operations, worker safety is key, with emphasis on accident prevention.

To date, there have been no injuries or fatalities in this area, according to Saldinger.

"Anybody who works with sewage is exposed to the risk of getting some sewage-related disease. All my staff here are immunised," he pointed out.

"The programme for immunisation is under control and we follow strict safety guidelines - don't swim, don't drink, you need to wash your hands, have a shower after work, and wash your clothes separately.

"We actually have a washing facility here where they can wash their clothes. It's pretty organised, so we don't have any problems here with people getting sick," said Saldinger.

Long-term plan

He said the long-term plan is to connect the entire city and develop the sewage-treatment system, with the Portmore connection in the pipeline.

"When we start the Portmore connection, we need to start developing the next stage, which is constructing a second pond system. You can't just wait for it. You need to prepare to receive the sewage because we are talking about average flows, but there are fluctuations, and when you have the high-level flow, you may have problems."

He went on to underline the importance of the work being done at Soapberry.

"With proper sewage collection and treatment, the value of the properties goes up. Sewage treatment may not be a very high-profile or glamorous business, but it has its effect on the development of the city and the wider society."

With the Urban Development Corporation and the National Housing Trust having pulled out of the ownership structure for Soapberry, the NWC is now the majority shareholder, with Ashtrom Building Systems a minority shareholder.

The plant is operated by Waste Water Operation and Management Company, with the NWC being its ultimate client.