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32 September 2016 - Business View Caribbean Business View Caribbean - September 2016 33
Mile Beach. The original facility consisted of four, large,
waste stabilization ponds. “But since 2005, we have a
Sequencing Batch Reactor plant with a capacity of 2.5
million gallons a day, and that’s actually the first phase
out of four; it’s designed to ultimately treat 10 million
gallons a day,” van Zanten states. “So, hopefully, in the
future, we’ll expand our collection system. Our man-
date dictates that we’ll have to do that. But it’s going
to be a gradual process.”
Other items on the Authority’s immediate and ongo-
ing agenda include a new water distribution pump sta-
tion in George Town equipped with variable frequency
drives that adjust the speed of the pump motor to fit
the water demand at any given time, thus saving ener-
gy and money; the installation of bulk water meters at
strategic places, where the net inflow of water can be
compared against water sales; and the replacement
of older water meters to ensure that all water used by
customers can be properly and accurately registered.
“The next step would be to go to smart meters,” says
van Zanten. AMI (Advanced Metering Infrastructure)
uses wireless water meters that send data on water
use from each customer to a central monitoring loca-
tion. “The system is capable of logging the water us-
age and alerting the Water Authority if a customer has
a sudden or unusual spike in water usage (either in
real time or using historical data, in the event of a cus-
tomer dispute), or if there are localized low pressure
areas, which are possible indicators of a leak.
This could help the Water Authority identify the loca-
tion of pipe breaks, allowing for quicker repairs and
less lost water,” say van Zanten. “It will give us a lot
more data, our customers can see their own usage to
see if there’s anything amiss, and we can do the same
thing. Plus, our staff won’t have to go out and operate
a valve.”
Since its inception, the Water Authority of the Cayman
Islands has come a long way in fulfilling its mission.
“In the last 30 years, we achieved a lot,” says Deputy
Director, van Zanten. “We went from a small, govern-
ment department with half a dozen people, to an or-
ganization of more than 120 employees that is self-
sufficient, provides good quality water to the majority
of the population, provides wastewater collection and
treatment services, and protects the water resources
of the island for future generations.”
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