Public Works has standardized its experiment at the AlـBidaa and AlـZomorouda drains after success was achieved at the AlـMessila drain, a ministry official said Friday. The successful experiment was in managing to increase the percentage of oxygen in seawater at a depth of 30 meters which contributed in bringing back oxygen the level to its normal levels, the Director of the environment department at the ministry Baqer Darwiesh told KUNA.
He added that the oxygenـinjected process was prompted through the recommendation of the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR), as wastewater overflowing from the Mishref station could lead to lack of oxygen in the seawater.
Both the ministry and KISR, along with the Environment Public Authority (EPA) are members of a committee tasked with assessment and treatment of pollutants caused by the malfunction that hit Mishref the wastewater recycling station last August.
An official source at the Ministry asserted that the Mishref disaster was delayed for three days because the ministry operated the VFD device, and mentioned that the crisis could have been avoided if the spare parts had arrived on time to repair some pumps, but the delay in their arrival exacerbated the crisis. The ''banned device'' managed to prevent sewage overflowing in several areas. The source added that the specialized company repaired the device but the contractor claimed that the company which adviced not to operate, unless it was an emergency, such as sewage overflowing, because this would imply that more pumps would be needed to absorb more sewage. Not operating the device was a form of threat made by the contractor against the ministry, which had to choose either operate the device or operate the stations. If the device was not operated, he noted, residents of Salmiya and Rumaithiya would have been victims of sewage overflowing. The source also announced that the contractor threatened the ministry of pulling out his equipments and technicians if the ministry did not sign the papers of the meeting, and noted that the final handover was done by the undersecretary, not the chief engineer. In addition to that, he stated that signing those papers were efforts exerted to protect the station and avoid the overflowing, especially after the wastewater started overflowing onto the streets. He explained that operating the device was motivated by increasing the number of pumps, which were two at the time, but after the device was operated, the number of pumps reached three, which led to avoiding an overflowing, which had already began. This device assisted in decreasing the rate of sewage overflow and controlling the situation temporarily, at a time when the ministry agreed to allow the contractor to order the spare parts of the malfunctioned pumps to repair them at his own personal expense, provided the ministry would pay him later. He asserted that the signed papers were to protect the station and not to cause the disaster, because the disaster happened because the spare parts were delayed and the main gate was not sealed due to lack in maintenance, which led to the disaster. "The ministry has official letters from the contractor that mention that the gate functions perfectly," the official said stressing that the ministry is working diligently to study the situation without being influenced by the media hype. He mentioned that the cost of the VFD is 8,000 Kuwaiti dinars only and not KD 9 million. He revealed that there are nine more devices in the station.

Alwatan Daily