The Northern Mariana Islands beam with pride for Managaha’s beauty.
Being ranked number three as a “must-see” best beaches in the world on Yahoo Japan, Managaha island also boasts of a system on how the environment should be taken cared of.
That is being a model island for waste water treatment system – the first island in the Pacific to adopt membrane bioreactor system, or MBR.
With hundreds of visitor everyday and the bulk during weekends, one may wonder how the island’s wastewater is being treated?
Since the installation and operation of the MBR in January 2008, treated wastewater from Managaha island further excels in complying with federal and international water quality standards.
“Impurities in the effluent, measured by the BOD test, have been reduced by over 99 percent,” according to Stan Good, PE, of Azuma Limited of Saipan who designed Managaha’s treatment plant.
Tasi Tours has asked Azuma Ltd. to design the treatment plant on Managaha.
After reviews by the U.S. Environmental Protection Administration and CNMI’s Division, Tasi Tours purchased the MBR from Daiki Johkasou of Japan.
“The filtered wastewater is passed through a photo oxidation system, which is a combination of ultraviolet light and oxidants (ozone, chlorine) to kill residual bacteria and viruses,” Good explained.
Good further explained: “As the plant operation was adjusted and the waste stream stabilized the treatment continued to improve. At present the treated wastewater is recycled through the toilets on Managaha saving potable water and power. All make-up water for the process is from a combination of rainwater catchment and reverse osmosis water. This assures a continual high quality effluent.”
“The good news for the Commonwealth is that this new wastewater treatment process will safeguard the pristine waters around Managaha Island.”
As of today, the treated effluent from the membrane filter is discharging wastewater that is cleaner than it has been for the past three decades. The Department of Public Lands in cooperation with Tasi Tours has used modern technology to ensure our visitors that the waters around Managaha will remain safe and pure, Good said.
