The Dominica Water and Sewerage Company Ltd (DOWASCO) will bring improved efficiency to water testing with the launch of its laboratory facilities at a new location. The laboratory facility has moved from a small two-room building located at DOWASCO’s Baytown Wastewater Treatment Plant in Roseau, where it performed analyses of water quality parameters since 2003, to the company’s Antrim site. The functions of the laboratory include ensuring the safety and conformity to established standards of the company’s water supply by assessing the performance of water treatment, detecting deterioration in quality, and correcting any deficiencies. The laboratory conducts bacteriological, chemical, and physical tests as part of a regular monitoring programme of each water system.
The improved facility is part of the Government of Dominica and the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) loan-funded Water Area 1 Network Upgrade Project and is constructed at Antrim, adjacent to the Water Treatment Plant. The scope of works included rehabilitating an existing building on site and constructing a new wing, resulting in total floor space several times that of the old laboratory. The rehabilitated wing serves as office space while the new wing consists of separate biology and chemistry laboratories, a refrigeration room, an autoclave room, storage areas, and offices and workshop areas for laboratory staff.
The amenities of the new lab foster increased testing capacity, additional productivity, and improvement in workflow. The increase in size allows for greater working comfort and staff safety, with space to accommodate additional lab staff. The new and updated equipment that is in place at the laboratory serves to improve the accuracy and speed with which various activities can be conducted, boosting overall efficiency. Lab equipment purchased includes multiparameter testers, a LABCONCO Type A2 Biosafety Cabinet and Premier Laboratory Fume hood, and OAKTON Dissolved oxygen meter which serve to support quality assurance regarding various aspects of the testing process such as integrity of the samples, a safe working environment for lab personnel.
New, modern laboratory equipment was procured at a cost of EC$435,000. The installation and commissioning of the equipment as well as the related training of DOWASCO staff was completed in November 2023.
This project was completed to the highest standards, as one of the objectives is to achieve ISO/IEC 17025 certification (International Standard for Testing and Calibration Laboratories).
Construction activities commenced in 2019 and were completed in 2022, at a total cost of EC$1.3 million.
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