Quality issues that shut down Rio Cobre water supply to ease by today
Published:Sunday | August 22, 2021 | 5:12 PM
Ruddy Mathison/Gleaner Writer
National Water Commission (NWC) authorities expect the deterioration in the water quality coming from the Rio Cobre, which forced the company to shut down its Spanish Town treatment plant in St Catherine, to abate by today
Two weeks ago, the river that supplies residents in St Catherine with potable water and which is also a source of economic well-being for some persons, was allegedly contaminated by a chemical spill from the Windalco bauxite company that killed hundreds of fish downstream in the vicinity of Bog Walk.
NWC Water Production Manager for St Catherine Calvert Davis said the present situation has nothing to do with the spill since that was cleared up and the plant had restarted.
He attributed the poor quality of the water going into the treatment plant to diminishing pH level or the level of acidity, and the turbidity or cloudiness of the water that is visible to the naked eye.
But while he was able to make a determination for the turbidity level of the river, he was unable to account for the lower pH level that he said was below seven, which is the threshold for drinking water.
"The situation with the chemical spill was resolved and the plant had restarted, but what we experienced on Tuesday are high turbidity and low pH levels," Davis told The Gleaner.
According to him, the NWC has not been able to ascertain the cause of this level of deterioration, which was first detected on Tuesday during the heavy rains.
"We are not sure what cause this, we know that heavy rains from time to time contributed to the turbidity, but as for the pH we are not sure what has contributed to this," he acknowledged.
Davis said in the water commission meanwhile has turned to the Eastern Headwork Wells and other sources in Spanish Town to supply the parish with water.
He said one fallout from the closing down of the treatment plant is the low water pressure that residents are experiencing.
"In the meantime, we will continue to perform hourly tests of the water coming in from the Rio Cobre to see when the situation improves," Davis said, adding that tests carried out so far has shown the pH level increasing.
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