Management of Wastewater in Jamaica: A Regulatory Perspective

National Environment and Planning Agency

Management of Wastewater in Jamaica: A Regulatory Perspective

Presented by: Mr. Oswald ChinkooManager, Pollution Monitoring and Assessment Branch


At the GEF/CREW Workshop held at the Jamaica Conference Centre

November 24, 2015



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Overview of Presentation• What is wastewater?• Sources of wastewater• Impact of wastewater on the environment and health• Legislative Framework• Why Regulations for wastewater and Sludge• Summary of Regulations• Number of licensed facilities since WWSR came into effect • Results of Wastewater Treatment Plant Audits 04/2013 to 10/2015• Reuse of wastewater• Chemicals in in wastewater • Economic Valuation • Sustainable Financing• Discussion

Managing and protecting Jamaica's land, wood and water


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What is wastewater?• Water that has been used and contains

dissolved or suspended solids and is carried from residential, business or industrial sources.

- NRC (Wastewater and Sludge) Regulations, 2013



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Sources of wastewaterISIC Description Examples9000 Sewage

15xx Manufacture of food products and beverage

Manufacture of dairy products, vegetable and animal oils and fats, prepared animal feeds, beverages, soft drinks; manufacture of sugar, distilling, rectifying and blending of spirits, ethyl alcohol production; manufacture of malt liquors and malt (included manufacture of beer, stout, ale) food processing

24xx Manufacture of chemicals and chemical products

Fertilizers, basic chemicals, pharmaceuticals, soap and detergents, pains, agrochemical products



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Sources of wastewater (cont’d)ISIC Description Examples26xx Manufacture of other non-

metallic mineral productsManufacture of cement

2320 Manufacture of refined petroleum products

4010 Electric power generation

9000 Sewage



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Impact of Wastewater on the Environment and Health• Impaired water quality (pollution of beaches,

rivers, groundwater)• Disease from polluted water and contaminated

shellfish which may be consumed by humans• Fish kills• Eutrophication which results in excessive plant

growth which can harm spawning grounds and become toxic to aquatic organisms



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Legislative Framework• Natural Resources Conservation Authority

Act, 1991• Natural Resources Conservation

(Wastewater and Sludge) Regulations, 2013



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Why Regulations for wastewater and sludge?

• Raw and poorly treated septage, sludge, domestic and industrial waste entering gullies, streams and coastal areas

• Inadequately designed and malfunctioning sewage treatment systems

• Low capacity among operators of sewage treatment plants and in government

• Failure of voluntary compliance in the sector, and• Cost to design, operate and maintain infrastructure



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Summary of the Regulations• Licensing SystemLicences required for construction and

operating a treatment plant as well as for discharging the treated effluent to the environment



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Summary of the Regulations (cont’d)

• Treatment Plant SpecificationsComplete set of drawing must be kept on

site or at a location specified by the Authority

Flow measuring devices should be installed at the inlet and outlet of the plant



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• Effluent Standards, Measurements, Monitoring & Reporting

Sewage effluent, trade effluent and irrigation discharge standards specified

Owner/operator required to take samples of the effluent in accordance with the licence (weekly, bimonthly, monthly, annually, etc.)

Plant should be monitored for operational purposes in accordance with best engineering practices

Monitoring reports should be submitted as stipulated by the Authority (monthly, quarterly, annually etc.)

Spills and Pollution incidents should be reported to the Authority



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• Operation and Maintenance of Treatment Plants

Operation and maintenance manual should be kept at a designated location specified by the licensee to the Authority

O & M Manual should include: description of the treatment plant; description of the operating procedures, including details of the process operations; a list of equipment; maintenance requirements and procedures; maintenance schedule; effluent monitoring schedule; emergency management plan

Standby power to be available



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• Use of Marine Outfalls Requests for use of marine outfalls should

be accompanied by supporting documentation including: model of plume behaviour; data, studies, calculations that show that the proposed outfall will allow for acceptable effluent quality and will not affect marine environment

Request may be made for relaxation of effluent limits



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• Re-use for irrigation Approval should be granted by the Authority

prior to use of treated effluent for irrigation Prior to granting approval, Authority must have

prior consultation with the competent authorities within the Ministries responsible for health and agriculture

Additional standards may be prescribed Nutrient management plan may be requested



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• Confirmation testing of Trade Effluent and Sewage Effluent

Where licensee does not utilize independent laboratory for testing; confirmation testing by an independent laboratory should be done twice per calendar year at a minimum of three months apart



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• Treatment of SeptageSeptage shall be disposed of in a

treatment plant approved by the Authority.



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• Management Practices for Sewage and Industrial Sludge

Sludge should meet standards in Regulations prior to disposal to the environment, sale or distribution

Disposal other than in a landfill should be done in accordance with management practices in guidelines

Sludge can be used for agricultural purposes No unauthorized access to storage and treatment

areas Managing and protecting Jamaica's land, wood and water


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• Compliance PlansShould include: details on how the plant will

be operated; current compliance status; list of pollutants that exceed the standards; statement of methods used to determine plant’s compliance status; detailed statement of how the plant will achieve compliance; proposed compliance schedule; schedule for submission of progress reports or compliance reports; performance targets




• Discharge Fees Paid annuallyBased on load of effluent dischargedDiscount may be granted in cases of

beneficial use of effluent/sludge

Managing and protecting Jamaica's land, wood and water 19



• Pollutant Release and Transfer RegisterBased on public’s right to knowPublic documentShould include: quality of the effluent

being discharged and status of compliance for treatment plants licensed to discharge effluent



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• Actions by the Authority when breaches occur

Warning notice Control order Revocation of licence Suspension of licence Apply for injunction to prohibit operation of the

plant Refuse renewal of licence


GENERAL PENALTY: Fine not exceeding 50,000 JMD or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or both fine and imprisonment. (If convicted in a RM court)


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Licensing of Wastewater Facilities

Number of facilities licensed between 2008- 2013 prior to WWSR

368

Number of facilities licensed pursuant to WWSR

179



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Results of Wastewater Treatment Plant Audits April 2013 - October 2015

April 2013 – March 2014• # of plants audited = 47*

April 2014 – October 2015• # of plants audited = 82


Effluent Quality

Number of Samples

Very Poor 1Poor 14Good 26Very Good 3

Effluent QualityNumber of Samples

Very Poor 8Poor 27Good 28Very Good 9

Number of parameters within compliance

Quality of effluent

< 2 Very Poor3 - 4 Poor5 - 6 Good> 6 Very Good


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Results of Wastewater Treatment Plant Audits April 2013 - October 2015 (cont’d)

April 2013 to March 2014• Parameters with

highest incidence of non-compliance

Total Nitrogen, Total Suspended Solids, Chemical Oxygen Demand

April 2014 – October 2015• Parameters with

highest incidence of non-compliance

Total Nitrogen, Biochemical Oxygen Demand, Chemical Oxygen Demand, Faecal Coliform, Total Suspended Solids



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Results of Wastewater Treatment Plant Audits April 2013 - October 2015 (cont’d)

• Issues observed Lack of flow measurement devices Lack of standby power Some components of plant not operated in

accordance with best practice (to potentially save on energy costs)

Disinfection not practiced or not properly carried out



Re-use of Wastewater• Existing licensed facilities re-use treated

effluent for irrigation• Benefit from discount on discharge fees• Majority of facilities that re-use

effluent are in the hotel sector



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Re-use of Wastewater (cont’d)• ISSUES: i. How can we increase re-use?ii. Do we have the data to support the push

for re-use in light of CECs?iii. Cannot re-use effluent that does not

meet the standardsiv. Buy in from general public



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Chemicals in Wastewater: Contaminants of Emerging Concern (CECs)

• Chemicals that are being discovered in water that previously had not been detected or are being detected at levels that may be significantly different than expected.

• Pose a risk to human health and the environment as a result of their presence, frequency of occurrence, or because their source may be unknown.



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Chemicals in Wastewater: Contaminants of Emerging Concern (CECs) (cont’d)

Q: How do CECs get into wastewater?A: From the use of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PCPs)



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• Examples of CECs Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) Perfluorinated compounds (PFCs)• Widely distributed and persistent in the

environment. • Both accumulate in human tissue or blood,

and are associated with health effects including endocrine disruption.



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• WWSR promotes re-use (S. 45)• Re-use necessary to meet current and

future demands• ISSUES: i. What are the CECs in our wastewater?ii. What impact will these have on our

environment and health with increased re-use?



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Economic Valuation in Wastewater Management

• ISSUES Currently not being done in Jamaica In general, economic valuation usually not done

because of inadequate property rights, presence of externalities and lack of perfect information (Hernandez-Sancho, et al , 2010)

What is needed to start carrying out economic valuation in Wastewater Management

Reference: Hernandez-Sancho, F., Molinos-Senante, M. and Sala-Garrido (2010) Economic valuation of environmental benefits from wastewater treatment processes: An empirical approach for Spain. Science of the Total Environment, 402 (4) pp. 953-957



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Financing Wastewater Management

• ISSUES: i. Funding for maintenance of plants - criticalii. Funding for capacity building (both regulated and

regulator)iii. Inadequate resources available to give effective

oversight (from the regulator standpoint)iv. Obligation of government to ensure a healthy

environment for citizens.v. Use of effluent discharge fees to augment. Timeline for

when this will become feasible.



34Managing and protecting Jamaica's land, wood and water

Thank you for you kind attention:Queries may be directed to:

Mr. Oswald ChinkooManager, Pollution Monitoring and Assessment Branch

National Environment and Planning AgencyTelephone: 927 1105

Telefax: 9271552Email: [email protected]

Discussion

mailto:[email protected]

Management of Wastewater in Jamaica: A Regulatory Perspective

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