‘Residents will soon see positive effects of the waste water treatment’

Officials at the St Vincent Brewery Ltd have explained to persons who live close to their manufacturing plant at Campden Park that it is going to take some time to see the positive effects of the waste water treatment system which was recently installed at the site.{{more}}

Albert Porter, Technical Manager and Brew Master at the facility, made the comment in response to recent complaints from nearby residents.

Porter explained that in setting up a plant, such as the one that has been installed, there needed to be a concentration of bacteria in order for the system to work.

He further explained that the Brewery did not import the bacteria and it would take a while before the bacteria in the water treatment system reached the required levels.

“You can’t commission a plant like this and overnight it is going to do what it is supposed to do,” Porter said.

In fact, according to Porter, residents have been complaining since the water treatment system project started.

“From the first day, they (residents) started reacting, but the water has been going out there for 25 years,” he contended.

“What we are doing now, this is the first plant of its kind, and what we are doing here is to make the quality of the water better than it used to be,” Porter continued.

He explained that the waste water does not pass through any private property, saying that that used to be the case previously when waste water was dumped 100 yards out to sea.

In fact, the brewery official said that a property was built on the previous pipeline and it, therefore, had to be revamped, but he contended that it was no longer being used.

With regard to the waste byproducts, Porter said that the extracted starch and malt are supplied to farmers free of charge to be fed to cattle for milk production.

He cited the materials’ high protein content as being ideal for dairy cattle.

However, problems arise if farmers do not come within the specified time to collect the material, Porter explained, adding that after 72 hours, the material gives of a pungent odour and the brewery has to pay to move the material.

Nigel Stephenson, Parliamentary Representative for South Leeward, said that residents had made numerous complaints about the stench coming from the plant.

He said that residents said that they smelt it sometimes and at other times they did not.

Stephenson said that he visited the area last week and on one occasion, he, too, picked the odour, but when he returned another time, the stench was gone.

Porter contended that attempts to explain to the residents how the waste water treatment system works proved futile.

Stephenson and Porter, however, agreed to meet with residents in an attempt to have the issue resolved.