According to this issue of the Reporter, DROB (Public Works) has approved the construction of a sewage plant with secondary & tertiary treatment and the contract has been signed with a German firm Dorsch Consult.
Implementation will begin on July 25
The island REALLY needs this desperately.

FINALLY....excellent news! Thanks for posting; long over due this is for sure!!!!!!!!!


Kobi

That is wonderful news. Knowing how island time works, they may have a sewage plant working by 2020.

Great news Vince - thanks for posting!

Super news! Makes my day hearing it!!

Any details on where it is being built?

Well, their Website is here http://wasser-umwelt.dorsch.de/en/index.php and with just a little looking around I did find mention of the Bonaire project.
Mick

Cecil, let's hope it doesn't take that long. The reefs won't make it till 2020! I just got done reading the Bonaire Reporter and is saddens me the condition of the the reefs and if the island doesn't act quickly, soon I mean, they won't have to worry about the reefs or protecting them as they won't be there. I am glad to hear they are going to install tertiary treatment as well. Hey, it's a step in the right direction and I hope they move on it a.s.a.p.
That article really scared the begeegees out of me in regards to how fast a reef can die if not taken care of when stuff is already there that shouldn't be there.

Well Debbie even a journey of a thousand miles starts with one step. What Bonaire has going for it is the lack of rain washing the nutrients onto the reef. If they can get the plant working fairly quickly even before they get all the pipes laid, that will at least be a safe place for all the honey wagons to dump their loads. That should remove a good percentage of the present nutrient loading.

As Cecil points out, there is little rain to wash nutrients onto the reef. Unfortunately that is at least offset by the porosity of the coral structure of the island. Anyone who has watched the water spouting from the ground 200 yards across the road from Sand Dollar during onshore wave events can imagine that 'nutrients' poured into the 'ground' don't take long to reach the ocean. That was confirmed by dye tests some time ago.

The imminent start of the plant and the tertiary processing are indeed good news for the island, above and below water. Hopefully the German firm will be able to speed up the 'island clock'. We can all keep our fingers crossed that the plant will allow Bonaire to keep ahead of nutrient-induced coral loss.

All to true Glen, a couple weeks back I saw how this works in limestone. I was a mile off shore and 80' down from Barbados and the visibility was terrible from the fresh water leaching into the salt water. This was from the recent rain and the water had flowed underground out to the reef. The DM told me that only certain parts of their coast see this effect.

Without doubt I believe this issue may be Bonaire's biggest problem which if not addressed timely will have catastrophic implications for the island's economy.

As we are all aware there has been (& continues to be) a large amount of construction ongoing. It's easy to see the population of the island increasing as well as more tourist & cruise ships arriving. From what I read, the biggest factor in the eutrophication of the surrounding waters is the improper disposal/treatment of human waste. Let's hope the "tipping point" for a downward spiral of the reefs has not been breached & the project develops in an expeditious & timely fashion.
At this point, I remain optimistic!

I am curious, does anyone have news on the project currently?

I know that in the land I am in the midst of developing they are making me arrange some provisions for sewer connections. Nothing to connect to yet, but they are laying down rules so that new construction can be hooked in. Nothing that's a real big deal either ... just some rules on the road construction.