Japan to help Antigua and Barbuda with ‘grey-water treatment’ plants

Antigua and Barbuda is poised to get more assistance from the government and
people of Japan. This time the assistance comes in the form of assisting the twin-
island state establish recycle water treatment plants in the country.
Utilities Minister Melford Nicholas has welcomed the announcement that a team
from Japan will arrive in the country next week for the signing of an agreement for
the project.
Nicholas said the plants are needed to help the country deal with grey-water, which
can be recycled and reused for landscaping and other purposes. “There have been
discussions for a long time now about setting up recycle plants around St. John’s.
We know of the bad odor that emanates from the effluent water that is piped into
the open drains which is neither wholesome or a healthy environment and we are
looking forward to see what assistance the Japanese will be able to offer,” he
noted.
According to the Cabinet Notes, Prime Minister, Gaston Browne, Environment
Minister, Sir Molwyn Joseph the Minister Nicholas and the Minister of Works,
Maria Bird-Browne, will welcome the team from Japan in a few days.
The Japanese Investment Bank team will sign an Agreement on a Recyclable
Water Project, treating grey water. The small recycling plants are to be installed in
hotels, government buildings, businesses and homes that will allow water from
showers, kitchens and other domestic uses to be treated and used again.
The plants would also be very helpful in reducing unwanted malodorous
emanations that now affect the air quality in commercial St. John’s, where waste
water is discharged in the gutters. Several cities and countries are moving to these
small plants rather than having a single large recycling plant that requires
underground pipes, pumps and other paraphernalia that can be very costly to
operate.
Greywater is lightly used water from clothes washers, showers, bathtubs, and
bathroom sinks. It contains some soap and detergents but it's a safe and effective
water supply for most landscapes. Water from toilets or wash water from diapers
is never considered greywater.