Biwater’s JV, Cascal, with the help of its water companies in the UK (Bournemouth and West Hampshire Water) and Indonesia (PT Adhya Tirta Batam) rushed to organise aid for Indonesia when they were contacted by the Medan City Water Company (PDAM Medan). Skilled personnel and package water treatment plant equipment has been requested and is now on its way to Indonesia.
PDAM Medan has currently identified nine refugee camps on the outskirts of towns in northern Sumatra and each comprises of 6,000 people. Three camps are to the south of Banda Aceh and desperately need small package treatment plants. River water up to a few kilometres inland is still saline and the relief team will need to dig wells to extract raw water.
Bournemouth and West Hampshire Water (BWH) has provided one trailer mounted water treatment plant producing water for up to 50,000 people, two skid mounted water treatment plants to supply up to 16,000 people each, temporary storage tanks and 100 days stock of chemicals, tools and provisions. In addition BWH has released three skilled operators who will be in Indonesia for approximately two weeks while they train the PT Adhya Tirta Batam (ATB) staff to operate the package plants. ATB with the help of Cascal’s Singapore office has played a large part in arranging the logistics of moving the equipment in Indonesia as well as liaising with PDAM Medan to find the most suitable locations for the treatment plants. ATB staff will operate the plants for up to three months during which time they will train suitable Acehnese staff to take over the operations.
Biwater also has a number of volunteers that they are willing to sponsor for a period of three months to help rebuild water supply infrastructure in Indonesia and Sri Lanka and is currently in discussions with various Aid Agencies.
Biwater Plc together with Biwater Treatment staff have also currently collected £3,500 for the Tsunami Disaster Appeal. Biwater will match the final amount that is collected.
