Triple A has presented plans to address these issues and to demonstrate that the proposed project will, upon implementation of the specific measures comprising an associated Environmental Action Plan, comply with the requirements administered by the Ministry of the Environment (MMA), the District Environmental Administrative Department (DADIMA), and the Atlantico Autonomous Regional Corporation (CAR) and applicable World Bank policies and guidelines. Detail on each issue is provided below.
Raw Water Resource Use and Management
The Barranquilla water supply system relies solely on the Rio Magdalena for its raw water source. The largest river in Colombia, more than 75% of the country’s population and almost all of Colombia’s productive area are located within the river’s drainage basin. Although the river has more than sufficient flows to meet current and future water quantity needs greater Barranquilla, there is a real concern over upstream pollution loadings from agricultural, industrial and domestic sources and their concomitant impact on raw water quality. In addition to depending on the relevant environmental authorities to protect water quality through regulation and enforcement of up-stream sources, Triple A is developing its own emergency response plan and system to protect Barranquilla raw water intakes in the event of an accidental up-stream release of hazardous substances.
Potable Water Treatment Technology and Finished Water Quality
Barranquilla’s five treatment works use appropriate, conventional processes -- chemical dosing, flocculation, sedimentation, filtration, and disinfection -- to produce finished drinking water. The water treatment plants are well operated and maintained, leading to high efficiency and reliability. Triple A’s water supply quality management activities are independently certified to ISO 9001:2000, the international quality management system standard. Finished water quality exhibits compliance with the standards set for potable water in Colombia and with the World Health Organization (WHO) drinking water guidelines.
Wastewater Management and Water Quality
Approximately 84% of the population within the Barranquilla service area is currently connected to the existing sewerage network, which is divided into three distinct drainage zones: the east, southwest, and northwest zones. Collected sewage is treated only in the southwest zone; raw sewage from the east and northwest zones is discharged either directly into the Rio Magdalena, to various tributary canals or “caños” that eventually drain to the river, or, in the case of the northwest zone, to smaller surface streams and coastal estuaries.
Sewage generated within the southwest zone is treated in a secondary-level, biological wastewater treatment works (WWTW). Using a series of well-operated facultative and anaerobic stabilization ponds, the "El Pueblo" WWTW currently treats 0.4 cu. m/sec. achieving removal efficiencies of greater than 80 % for organic matter and suspended solids and elimination of pathogenic organisms. The treated effluent complies with required Colombian and World Bank limits and is discharged to the Santo Domingo canal or stream, which experiences minimal environmental impact. Triple A is expanding the capacity of the El Pueblo WWTW so as to eventually be able to treat 1.4 cu. m/sec. of raw sewage.
Water quality monitoring of the Rio Magdalena upstream and downstream of the 9 raw sewage discharges from portions of the east and northwest zones demonstrates that the direct river discharges have minimal pollutional impact on the river owing to its large flows and resulting high dilution capacity. On the other hand, the raw sewage discharges to the much smaller surface water bodies, such as the Ahuyama canal in the east zone and the Mallorquin estuary in the northwest zone, have had a major adverse impact on the water quality of these surface waters because they are unable to naturally assimilate these pollution loads. As a result, water quality is poor.
The Barranquilla Water and Wastewater Master Plan (covering the period until 2025) contains a set of actions aimed at expanding sewage treatment coverage to the east and northwest zones and eliminating the raw sewage discharges contributing to environmental degradation of the canals and streams. In the east zone, there are plans to eventually construct sewage pumping stations and a WWTW with sufficient capacity and secondary-level treatment capability. In addition, a secondary-level plant is planned to serve the sewage treatment needs of the northwest zone. All of these future WWTWs will discharge to the Magdalena river at levels that comply with Colombian requirements and World Bank guidelines.
The Master Plan foresees the improvements occurring in two phases, the first of which would involve constructing a series of pumping stations to redirect collected sewage away from canals and the smaller streams to the Magdalena river where it would be naturally assimilated with minimal impact. In the east zone, this would specifically entail construction and operation of pumping stations to collect all existing discharges to the Ahuyama canal and to pump them to the Magdalena river. By using this approach, the degradation of the canal can be reversed by utilizing the practically unlimited assimilative capacity of the river to temporarily accept these additional sewage loads. The second phase would involve the eventual construction of a sewage treatment plant to treat this flow. A similar phased approach would be used for the northwest zone. Gravity traps, or separators would be constructed to collect sewage which would otherwise flow to the Mallorquin estuary. Collected sewage would be redirected to the Mallorquin Pumping Station in La Playa, which in the first phase would discharge directly to the Magdalena river. In a later second phase, a sewage treatment plant would be built to treat sewage flows prior to river discharge.
Because the existing tariff structure necessarily constrains the timing of the capital expenditures required to meet these new sewerage pumping and treatment needs, it is not clear when these improvements will be implemented. IFC will work with Triple A and other stakeholders to ensure that improvements are implemented at the earliest practical time. Colombian law, implemented through the Municipality''s Development Plan (POT), provides for active citizen participation in the selection of the sites for all new facilities of this type. According to sites defined in the current POT, the construction of new sewerage facilities will not require any temporary or permanent relocation or resettlement of any people, nor are there any special cultural or archeological features in the vicinity of any proposed works.
Sludge Management and Disposal
Water treatment sludges from the five potable water treatment plants serving Barranquilla are currently returned (as relatively low solids content slurries) to the Rio Magdalena, without any adverse impact. Wastewater sludge has yet to be extracted from the "El Pueblo" WWTW. Triple A is planning to construct sludge drying beds on the WWTW site, where sludge that is eventually to be removed from the stabilization ponds will be dewatered prior to it being disposed in the municipal solid waste landfill operated by the Company (see below). Sludge to be produced by future WWTWs will also be disposed in this landfill.
Solid Waste Management
Triple A provides efficient solid waste collection and disposal services for 1.3 million people within the Barranquilla area. The Company manages some 510,000 tonnes annually of domestic solid waste, street cleaning residuals, landscape trimmings, and miscellaneous construction debris. No hazardous, infectious or pathogenic, or radioactive wastes are handled. Wastes collected by Triple A are disposed in the "El Henequen" landfill, which has an environmental license to operate until 2004. The landfill design features appropriate bottom liner permeability to avoid groundwater contamination, leachate collection and treatment, and a gas collection and ventilation system. Cells are covered daily, and operations are monitored closely in compliance with Colombian requirements and World Bank guidelines. Triple A’s commitment to quality is evidenced by the certification to ISO 9001:2000, the international quality management system standard, of its solid waste collection, disposal, and related services.
Triple A also has developed several programs to promote waste recycling in the City. The recycling program includes targeted community training and awareness campaign, and the construction and operation of a recycling center for paper, glass, and plastic. In conjunction with competent municipal authorities, Triple A is assisting in the implementation of a social program for the 30 families who live in the vicinity of the El Henequen landfill, and whose livelihood, in part, depends of scavenging materials for resale. Through the active participation of the competent municipal authorities, this social program involves providing health care for the 336 people, improvement of working conditions at the landfill, providing the school materials for children, and providing water supply for these families.
Hazardous Materials Management and Emergency Response
Triple A stores and uses significant amounts of chlorine and other chemicals at the five water supply treatment plants. Recognizing that an accidental release of chlorine gas could present a high risk to adjacent communities, the Company appropriately handles and stores chlorine to minimize and mitigate the impact of an emergency. Adequate management is guaranteed by procedures governing receipt, quality control, application in the process, and consumption measurement. These are detailed in a Safety Manual and are consistent with normal water industry practice. the site, provide some additional containment features, etc.
Triple A has established emergency prevention and control plans for the water supply and wastewater treatment plants. The emergency response procedures covered in the plan include training for internal emergency response brigades, responding to fire and chlorine gas leaks, emergency drills to evaluate response capacity in the event of a release, and techniques to recognize and improve risky conditions discovered in the chemical addition process. As a member of the Barranquilla chapter of Apell, Triple A coordinates with other community organizations, governmental entities, and the private sector in emergency preparedness and response activities.
Employee Health and Safety
Triple A has implemented an occupational health and safety policy program, the main goal of which is to prevent and control risk factors within the workplace, communities and the environment. The program provides employee medical screening, safety and health training, and makes available personal protective equipment appropriate to an employee’s job conditions. Each work area undergoes an annual risk evaluation, and appropriate corrective and/or preventive measures are recommended. Containing a written set of safe work procedures organized by various job descriptions, a safety manual is continuously updated and made available to all employees. Contractors are also required to comply with all technical and administrative features of the Triple A health and safety program. Control is enforced through regular audits and inspections of the work sites.
