MWSC works on action plan

In this file photo from 2016, Majuro Water and Sewer Company and Beca consultants brief local residents on water and sewer issues to generate feedback to include in developing a master plan. Photo: Isaac Marty.
In this file photo from 2016, Majuro Water and Sewer Company and Beca consultants brief local residents on water and sewer issues to generate feedback to include in developing a master plan. Photo: Isaac Marty.

Majuro Water and Sewer Company is working with international consultants Beca to determine what they need to do to get Majuro’s water and sewer systems up to world standards and to develop a plan to achieve this.
MWSC’s General Manager Joseph Batol said that Beca and MWSC have undertaken several field tests and condition assessments as the first stage of developing the 20-year strategic plan and five-year development plan for MWSC. “Before we can write a plan on where we want to be we need to understand where we currently are.”
Halston deBrum, Operations Manager for MWSC, said that the field and investigation works identified a number of areas that need fixing. “The condition assessment of our water treatment plants (WTP) identified that the mechanical and electrical system for WTP C at the airport needs some mechanical and electrical improvements, and WTP A at the hospital needs total mechanical and electrical replacement. The Laura water system is in good condition.”
“The sewer system is in need of major rehabilitation for both the sewage pumping stations and the saltwater pumping stations and we also need to install standby pumps,” said deBrum.
DeBrum said that now that these evaluations have been completed Beca is developing a short list of options for water supply and sewerage for different levels of service.
“The current timing of the project is that Beca will have draft findings and recommendations to be put to our board in early February followed by another stakeholder workshop in mid-February,” said deBrum. “We also propose to have community workshops about the level of service and tariffs to ensure MWSC’s sustainability and to seek the community’s views.”

Read more about this in the January 20, 2017 edition of the Marshall Islands Journal.