A Caribbean Island Installer Develops System To Protect Dolphin Habitat

A complex new onsite system on two Caribbean island keys will ensure proper long-term wastewater treatment in a delicate environment.

Feb 09, 2015 | by David Steinkraus |

Orenco Systems, Inc. Netafim USA Goulds Water Technology, a Xylem brand Wastewater Treatment Plant Effluent Pump Aerobic Treatment Unit (ATU) Dosing Tank Skid-Steer Honduras BioMicrobics, Inc. Drip Tubing

A Caribbean Island Installer Develops System To Protect Dolphin Habitat — The island of Roatan is along the top of the photo, and near the center are the headquarter buildings and docks of Anthony’s Key Resort. Most divers stay in cabins on Anthony’s Key, the small island at left. At right is Bailey’s Key with the dolphin pens clearly shown.

A Caribbean Island Installer Develops System To Protect Dolphin Habitat — The finished Bio-Microbics plant is buried only a couple of feet on Anthony’s Key because the island’s base is hard coral. The plant is built of cement blocks coated with repello, a fine outer skin of cement to provide a smooth, waterproof finish.

A Caribbean Island Installer Develops System To Protect Dolphin Habitat — The base for the treatment tank is laid out on Anthony’s Key. Because of the expense and difficulty of getting any sort of finished building material to Roatan, most structures are built of concrete, cement and sand, which are shipped in bulk. Tanks like this are constructed from cement blocks molded on Roatan.

A Caribbean Island Installer Develops System To Protect Dolphin Habitat — Gravity sewer taking wastewater from divers’ cabins to collection tanks had to be routed around the palm trees that dot Anthony’s Key. Below the sand, sometimes only a couple of inches, is old coral so hard it will break jackhammer bits.

A Caribbean Island Installer Develops System To Protect Dolphin Habitat — Workers for Acme Environmental Solutions unload material at Anthony’s Key in Roatan, Honduras. Everything for a complete wastewater system had to be transported by boat or barge, including bagged sand, gravel and cement for the concrete plant and collection boxes.

Akr Aerial

Biomicrobics Plant 0810

Biomicrobics 0831

Collection Pipes 1433

Unloading At Anthonys Key 1319

Divers have been coming to the Caribbean island of Roatan for decades, and no wonder. The island is surrounded by a coral reef that in some places is so close you can wade to it from shore. The reef is home to hundreds of species of fish, and that makes for spectacular scuba diving in the bathtub-warm sea. As time passed, however, this ideal place developed problems. Samir Galindo could see them. He is general manager of Anthony’s Key Resort, which has been around for about 40 years and is one of the oldest dive operations on the island. In

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