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VI_DAILYNEWS/PAGES [A05] | 11/21/13 00:16 | SUPERIMPVI Today, Nov. 21 Norwegian Gem (2,340) 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Havensight Eurodam (2,044) 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Crown Bay Friday, Nov. 22 Summit (2,158) 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Havensight Seven Seas Navigator (490) 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Havensight Ryndam (1,258) 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Crown Bay Emerald Princess (3,080) 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Crown Bay Saturday, Nov. 23 Seabourn Sojourn (450) 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Cruz Bay Adventure of the Seas (3,840) 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Frederiksted Sunday, Nov. 24 Jewel of the Seas (2,500) 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Havensight Summit (1,950) 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Frederiksted Monday, Nov. 25 Carnival Valor (2,500) 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Havensight Adventure of the Seas (3,840) 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Havensight Jewel of the Seas (2,500) 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Frederiksted VIRGIN ISLANDS Numbers in parentheses indicate passenger capacity. Reverse osmosis facility opens at WAPA’s Richmond plant By FIONA STOKES Daily News Staff ST. CROIX — The V.I. Water and Power Authority and Seven Seas Water Corporation conducted a joint opening of the St. Croix Seawater Reverse Osmosis Facility on Wednesday, bringing the terri- tory’s water production capabili- ties to 7 million gallons a day. Don Prowant, Seven Seas site project manager, said WAPA knew at the turn of the century that the need would arise for more water production for the territory, and the plans started to take shape and between 2008 and 2009 when WAPA began a relationship with Seven Seas. WAPA spokeswoman Jerain Fleming said the utility has been producing potable water across the territory by thermal desalination for more than 30 years. This pro- cess is dependent on steam pro- duction created by burning fuel oil in power plant boilers. While the multi-effect distilla- tion technology was viable in the past given the low cost of fuel, the volatile tendencies of the fuel oil market during the last several decades has made water produc- tion costly for WAPA, according to Fleming. “After extensive research of options that would result in the lowest production cost for potable water, while maintaining high water quality, seawater reverse osmosis was chosen as the tech- nology that would best meet the needs of the authority and its cus- tomers,” she said in a prepared statement. “The reverse osmosis process pushes sea water through a very fine membrane at high pres- sure, separating the water mole- cules from the salt ions, creating purified drinking water.” In April 2012, WAPA signed a 20-year build-own-operate agree- ment with Seven Seas to construct a Salt Water Reverse Osmosis sys- tem to meet St. Croix customer demand for approximately 2.5 to 3 million gallons daily. The reverse osmosis system at the Richmond Plant is capable of producing a guaranteed supply of up to 3.7 mil- lion gallons per day of water for potable use, with the capability of expanding to 4.8 million gallons per day in the future if the need arises, according to WAPA Board Chairman Gerald Groner. The temporary reverse osmosis plants began functioning in 2009 when several units were installed in St. Croix’s Richmond Plant on a short-term basis to address poten- tial water shortages on the island. In 2012, after a permanent contract was negotiated with Seven Seas, several more temporary units were installed in the Randolph Harley power plant when malfunctioning generators limited the WAPA’s ability to produce drinking water for St. Thomas and St. John cus- tomers. The permanent St. Thomas facilities then were constructed by Seven Seas and dedicated in August. WAPA Executive Director Hugo Hodge Jr. said the change from thermal desalination to the reverse osmosis production technology should result in a 50 percent reduc- tion in the cost of water produc- tion, which is savings that will be passed on to the customers. Hodge asked legislators to cre- ate legislation and funding to revamp the aged underground infrastructure. He said the iron pipes are rusted out and building up inside, which sometimes affects the color of the water. Hodge said the water produced is good, but the pipes are creating a problem. He estimated $300 mil- lion is needed to replace the infra- structure territorywide. “Anything built to last 20 or 30 years and lasts for 60, you’ve got- ten your money’s worth,” he said. “It is time to start looking at replacing and that is the type of legislative help we need, not with efficiency.” Mario Mondo, Caribbean presi- dent for Seven Seas Water Corp., said Seven Seas is looking toward the future, ensuring that they cre- ate a skilled pool of workers to continue the operation of the plant. He said Seven Seas has offered two scholarships in process tech- nology, four internship positions and hired two graduates of the newly developed process technol- ogy program at the University of the Virgin Islands. Those in attendance Wednesday toured the new facility. — Contact reporter Fiona Stokes a t 7 1 4 - 9 1 4 9 o r e m a i l fstokes@dailynews.vi. Daily News Photo by FIONA STOKES Tom Williams, senior project manager, leads a tour of the salt water reverse osmosis plant Wednesday on St. Croix. Thursday, November 21, 2013 The Virgin Islands Daily News 5