Over the past few days, the Barbados Water Authority (BWA) has received intermittent reports of malodours in the immediate vicinity of the Bridgetown Sewage Treatment Plant. The source of the problem has been traced to a build-up of grease entering the Plant.

This increase forced personnel to make adjustments and carry out additional cleaning of sensitive equipment in order to combat the issue. The excess grease was taken off and trucked out of the facility and as a result of its removal, the situation is being successfully resolved.

However, these circumstances bring to light the position that persons connected to the island’s two Sewage Treatment Plants need to be reminded of – no Fats, Oils or Grease (FOGs) are to be put into the sewer lines. FOGs compromise the treatment process at the Plants and cause plant upsets and malodours.

Marketing Officer at the BWA, Yvette Harris-Griffith, underscored that “the Authority continues to advise commercial and domestic users of the sewerage system to service their individual grease traps regularly and avoid putting any grease into the sewer pipelines. Instead, what is recommended is the collection and proper disposal of all FOGs.”