15 engineers that supervised Eqaila Station referred to Disciplinary Court

Problem causes increase in flow of rainwater

KUWAIT CITY, June 18: Minister of Public Works and Minister of State for Housing Affairs Jinan Ramadan expressed revulsion on the overflowing manholes of the sewage network during the rainy season, especially along the coastal strip in Ahmadi Governorate, reports Al-Rai daily.

The minister explained that the problem causes increase in the flow of rainwater into the sewage network, and that 15 engineers who worked in Eqaila Power Station project have been referred to the Disciplinary Court.

Deals

“Despite the fact that the sewage network is separate from the rainwater network and deals with regular flows of wastewater throughout the year, there is an increase in flows in that network. It exceeded the normal rate due to the connection of much of the drainage of the roofs of houses to the drainage system. This is in addition to the flow of rainwater through the manhole covers,” Ramadan said in response to a parliamentary question.

She explained that in the case of heavy rains in Ahmadi, the influx amounts to more than the capacity of the pumping station in charge of receiving the water and pumping it to the purification plant in the back. She pointed out that 100 thousand cubic meters increase in flows was recorded during the period of precipitation of rains in November 2018. She added that heavy rainfall during the high tide of the sea prevented discharge of rainwater into the sea, indicating the state of nondischarge usually continues until the reflux condition.

She declared the capacity of pumping Eqaila Station allocated to receive wastewater in Ahmadi is 180,000 cubic meters per day, and according to the plan of developing sewage stations in the southern part of the country, the ministry will increase capacity of the station through investor contract for the purification plant in Umm Al-Hayman. The memorandum of understanding was signed with the investor earlier this year, and it’s expected to be completed in 2022.

She pointed out that the ministry is taking measures to deal with the increase in flows at Egaila Station. Some of the old pumping and lift stations in the governorate have been operated to deal with the increase. Therefore, all stations operate regularly, leading to the disappearance of overflow scenario that used to occur regularly in some areas of the governorate before the operation of Egaila Station.

Project

As regards the observations of State Audit Bureau on Egaila Station, Ramadan said: “Although the station has been operating on a regular basis since its operation in 2011, it achieves the objective for which it was set up. The ministry cooperated with the State Audit Bureau in accordance with the rules and regulations of the bureau to investigate the violation attributed to the project. All 15 engineers of the various stages of the project were referred to the Disciplinary Court and the procedure required investigating the case with those in supervisory and leadership positions who are related to the project”.