13 September 2009
KUWAIT -- International experts praised procedures taken by Kuwait to handle the malfunction that hit Mishref waste water recycling station, Minister of Public Works and Minister of State for Municipal Affairs Dr. Fadhel Safar said Sunday.
In a press conference held Sunday evening, the minister said that experts from the United States, France and Egypt all provided solutions to deal with the problem, as an American expert is attending the ministry's meetings.
Safar added that Egypt's contribution was via a report that supported steps taken by Kuwait.
He also pointed out that a ministerial decision was made to form a committee, headed by the Fatwa and Legislation Department, to investigate procedures of landing the station's bid.
All experts recommended the establishment of a sub-station adjacent to the one in Mishref to be in use whenever needed, Safar said, adding that layout of the station is over with.
Mishref station is receiving all waste water of Hawally governorate, especially from Salmiya, Bede's, Rumeithiya, Salwa, West Mishref, South Surra, Al-Jabriya, Bayan, in addition to Mishref, he said, noting that malfunctions began to surface on August 1, 2009 which led to its stoppage on August 23, due to seepage of water that flooded the electric circuits of the main operation room.
To address the problem, Safar said, the ministry began pumping out water into rain water drains after treating it in coordination with the Department of Civil Defense, General Department of Fire Fighting and the Public Authority of the Environment, as well as benefiting from the experience of contracting companies in this regard.
Air pollution at the station is now under control, he noted, as a mega manhole is placed for water tankers to transport waste water to other stations.
Moreover, three treatment units were installed inside the station, the minister pointed out.
The team working at the station also managed to close the main manhole of the station last night at a depth of 25 meters, Safar said.
On his part, General Director of the Public Environment Authority (EPA) Dr. Salah Al-Mudhi denied the existence of red tide or fish fatalities in sea, pointing out that EPA took necessary precautionary procedures to preserve marine environment after the malfunction that hit Mishref waste water recycling station.
In the joint press conference Minister Safar, Al-Mudhi said the authority's task is to monitor and supervise all that is environment-related, noting that there are three departments at EPA involved in the matter by taking samples from different locations, test them then analyze the results.
Reasons behind the decline of polluters' in sea is attributed to means of treatment conducted by the ministry of public works, as well as tests' results provided by EPA and the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Researches (KISR) in this regard, Al-Mudhi said, adding that another reason behind the decline was the shallow nature of sea water in Kuwait, as well as the hot weather, which both contributed in "naturally" solving the problem.
All bodies concerned spared no effort in dealing with the incident, and devoted all means to re-operate Mishref station, he pointed out.
On reports that Al-Shuaiba station is also contaminated, Al-Mudhi denied such reports, saying that drinking water in Kuwait is "safe." The ministry of electricity and water is testing the drinking water every 15 minutes by taking random samples in order to authenticate its purity, he noted.
KUWAIT -- International experts praised procedures taken by Kuwait to handle the malfunction that hit Mishref waste water recycling station, Minister of Public Works and Minister of State for Municipal Affairs Dr. Fadhel Safar said Sunday.
In a press conference held Sunday evening, the minister said that experts from the United States, France and Egypt all provided solutions to deal with the problem, as an American expert is attending the ministry's meetings.
Safar added that Egypt's contribution was via a report that supported steps taken by Kuwait.
He also pointed out that a ministerial decision was made to form a committee, headed by the Fatwa and Legislation Department, to investigate procedures of landing the station's bid.
All experts recommended the establishment of a sub-station adjacent to the one in Mishref to be in use whenever needed, Safar said, adding that layout of the station is over with.
Mishref station is receiving all waste water of Hawally governorate, especially from Salmiya, Bede's, Rumeithiya, Salwa, West Mishref, South Surra, Al-Jabriya, Bayan, in addition to Mishref, he said, noting that malfunctions began to surface on August 1, 2009 which led to its stoppage on August 23, due to seepage of water that flooded the electric circuits of the main operation room.
To address the problem, Safar said, the ministry began pumping out water into rain water drains after treating it in coordination with the Department of Civil Defense, General Department of Fire Fighting and the Public Authority of the Environment, as well as benefiting from the experience of contracting companies in this regard.
Air pollution at the station is now under control, he noted, as a mega manhole is placed for water tankers to transport waste water to other stations.
Moreover, three treatment units were installed inside the station, the minister pointed out.
The team working at the station also managed to close the main manhole of the station last night at a depth of 25 meters, Safar said.
On his part, General Director of the Public Environment Authority (EPA) Dr. Salah Al-Mudhi denied the existence of red tide or fish fatalities in sea, pointing out that EPA took necessary precautionary procedures to preserve marine environment after the malfunction that hit Mishref waste water recycling station.
In the joint press conference Minister Safar, Al-Mudhi said the authority's task is to monitor and supervise all that is environment-related, noting that there are three departments at EPA involved in the matter by taking samples from different locations, test them then analyze the results.
Reasons behind the decline of polluters' in sea is attributed to means of treatment conducted by the ministry of public works, as well as tests' results provided by EPA and the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Researches (KISR) in this regard, Al-Mudhi said, adding that another reason behind the decline was the shallow nature of sea water in Kuwait, as well as the hot weather, which both contributed in "naturally" solving the problem.
All bodies concerned spared no effort in dealing with the incident, and devoted all means to re-operate Mishref station, he pointed out.
On reports that Al-Shuaiba station is also contaminated, Al-Mudhi denied such reports, saying that drinking water in Kuwait is "safe." The ministry of electricity and water is testing the drinking water every 15 minutes by taking random samples in order to authenticate its purity, he noted.
© KUNA (Kuwait News Agency) 2009
