Water quality in the north should improve through Juas works
JUAS water treatment works has come online to provide drinking water, after nearly £2m. of work.
As part of Guernsey Water’s water treatment strategy, the Vale facility has been brought back into operation to replace the treatment works at Longue Hougue. The strategy should save £10m. pounds over the next 25 years.
Guernsey Water general manager Steve Langlois said the new water treatment strategy would reduce costs significantly.
‘The savings are thanks to the greater operational efficiency and ease of maintenance of traditional gravity sand filters in comparison to membrane filtration, currently in operation at Longue Hougue,’ he said.
Juas will be one of three active works on the island following the decommissioning of Longue Hougue. Together with Kings Mills and St Saviour’s, the utility will be able to meet peak consumption demand and allow for planned or emergency shut-downs.
On average, islanders consume 12.5 million litres of water a day. Juas is designed to supply up to 10 million litres a day, at maximum output.
The work at Juas has taken 20 months to complete and has mostly been carried out by Guernsey Water’s own production team.
During this time all sections of the site have been fully refurbished and brought up to meet the latest standards, including the installation of a UV disinfection system.
This should improve water quality for islanders in the north.
The Juas site was bought in 1933 by the then States of Guernsey Water Board, having previously been relied on in times of drought. The original treatment works was decommissioned in 2013, after 37 years of operation.
It is Guernsey Water’s third largest storage reservoir, after St Saviour’s and Longue Hougue, and has the capability to draw water from more than one source. This ensures greater resilience to the ongoing, uninterrupted, provision of treated water.
‘Although the project has taken a little longer than we originally expected, we are pleased to report that it has come below the £1.8m. budgeted,’ said Mr Langlois.
The treatment works at Longue Hougue will be decommissioned over the next six months, although the reservoir will still be a valuable raw water storage facility.
