Decades old problem to get fix

US and RMI government leaders and landowners broke ground for a new Majuro Water and Sewer Company warehouse at the airport reservoir — the launch of a nearly $15 million project focused on fixing the long-damaged sewage outfall system in downtown Majuro. Photo: Hilary Hosia.

HILARY HOSIA

A decades long problem for the Majuro Water and Sewer Company — and the 20,000 residents of Majuro Atoll — is about to be eliminated following the injection of $14.9 million in US funding to replace the sewer outfall located oceanside of the MWSC headquarters in Delap.

News of the long-awaited dream was announced in public following the official groundbreaking ceremony at the MWSC reservoir area for a warehouse to house equipment needed for the project.

MWSC General Manager Damian Capelle’s remarks in the ceremony were full of pride and encouragement: the day of realizing our dreams is upon us, from this day forth, we embark on a new start, Damian said as he praised the hardworking team at MWSC.

Damien referred to the 20-year-old problem as a thorn MWSC will soon gladly remove. Damian also extended gratitude to the US Embassy team and USAID for reaching out to MWSC to tackle the problem head on.

For the past over 20 years, the sewer outfall pipe broke down over time, such that a pipe that originally was 200 feet long is now just a few feet in length, spewing raw sewage onto the reef flat and into the ocean — harming the reef, the environment and local residents who catch fish and swim in downstream locations.

The new project, which will be supervised by Nate Stansberry, will ensure sewage from the land are deposited safety beyond the reef break, where a plastic-like extension will be curbed downwards toward the reef and onto the ocean bottom. Prior to being deposited, the collected waste will be broken down and chlorinated as part of the disposal process.

The next idea floating around once the outfall pipe situation is fixed is the potential of adding a waste treatment facility. Once completed, the new outfall process will provide a high-degree of treatment of waste but not 100 percent prior to open ocean disposal.

A top US official suggested the MWSC team take a trip to the US Army base on Kwajalein and observe their waste treatment facility. The waste treatment facility at Kwajalein is suitable for Majuro and available funds would enable such plan, the official said.

The current project is a compilation of $10.9 million from the US Department of Agriculture and $4 million from the Asian Development Bank.

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