A SPILLAGE of raw sewage into St. George's harbour during the cruise ship season was prevented only by the diligence of dedicated Old Town workers, town manager Lance Furbert has revealed.

Through the summer, Corporation of St. George's workers were on constant stand-by and sometimes had to get up in the early hours, as ageing pumps struggled to keep sewage tanks in Market Wharf from overflowing.

Now the three pumps at the Old Town's sewage pumping station are "all but dead", according to Mr. Furbert.

With visiting cruise ships no longer adding their output of sewage to the the tanks, the load on the pumps has been lessened, but the danger of overflowing sewage was still there, warned Mr. Furbert.

But the town manager was hopeful that a new pumps would be in place in time for next spring to reduce the likelihood of a spillage.

And he added that the Government was working with the Corporation on plans to build a complete new pumping station.

Meanwhile, St. George's Senator Kim Swan said it was time for a complete review of the Old Town's sewerage system.

Sen. Swan said it was time to stop pumping raw sewage into the ocean and called for plans to treat the waste and use the resulting water for irrigation of the local golf course.

"We now have the ferries docking right next to the sewage station, carrying both Bermudians and visitors and we can't afford to have a spillage," said Mr. Furbert.

Corporation works supervisor Shannon Outerbridge and his colleagues came in for praise from Mr. Furbert.

"We were very fortunate to make it through the cruise ship season without a spillage of sewage into the harbour," said the town manager.

"There were nights when we had very serious problems. Really only the diligence of Shannon Outerbridge and his crew saved the town from a very embarrassing situation."

When pumps broke down in the night or high tides arrived in the early hours, the staff got up to attend to it.

"It's a constant headache and when the phone rings at 11 p.m. you panic," said Mr. Furbert.

"When we had the high tides the problem was even worse. We had salt water getting into the wet well. We sometimes had to switch the pumps off. Sometimes the high tides came at 2 a.m., so that's when our people had to get up. We're fortunate to have such conscientious workers."

In September, officials from the cash-strapped Corporation had talks with Government with the aim of getting some extra financial help.

St. George's Mayor Henry Hayward said the town's annual income of $2.1 million was $700,000 short of what it needed. And a new sewage pumping station would cost around $800,000.

The Old Town's sewage is collected in tanks at Market Wharf and is then pumped over a hill and to an outlet on the North Shore. The raw sewage enters the Atlantic about 1,000 yards off the shoreline.

Mr. Furbert said the three sewage pumps had reached the end of their natural lives and needed constant attention to keep going.

"One pump is still working reasonably, the second is limping along and the third one is dead," said Mr. Furbert.

"The plan is to get some new pumps to keep us going in the short term and eventually a whole new pumping station. The Government has worked closely with us and has been very co-operative.

"I really have no idea when we will get the new station. But we are hoping to do a temporary fix soon. By the next cruise ship season, I'm hoping that we will have a system in place that will work well."

Sen. Swan said the sewerage system needed a complete overhaul.

"If we are going to continue to sell St. George's as a World Heritage Site, we cannot continue to pump raw sewage into the sea, half a mile off Tobacco Bay," said the United Bermuda Party Senator.

Sen. Swan, also the former professional at the Government-owned St. George's Golf Course, said some of the financing of an improved sewerage system could come from a resulting by-product.

"After the sewage has ben treated, the water could be used for the irrigation of St. George's Golf Course," said Sen. Swan. "The $100,000 a year or so that the course pays for irrigation could help to pay for the amortisation of the project.

"You could start the project knowing that you had a buyer for the water. But if we want this to happen, we have to start planning now, if, say, we wanted to get it in the Budget by 2004.

"We have got to start thinking more carefully about using the resources of our island, now that we are becoming more populated. We have to start thinking more green. St. George's could become a shining example for the rest of the island."

He referred to the sewage treatment system at the Sonesta Hotel, put into operation earlier this year. There, solid wastes are filtered out and are dealt with by the Government. The resulting waste water is recycled in the hotels flushing system.

The Corporation of Hamilton also has a modern sewage treatment facility built at a cost of $7.5-million, of which the Government is understood to have paid around $1.6 million.

Solid materials are screened out by the system and are then packed for disposal at the Tynes Bay incinerator.

Mr. Furbert agreed that pumping raw sewage out to sea was not a good thing.

"Just for our own quality of life, we need to stop doing this," said Mr. Furbert. "Of course, that would require a sewage treatment plant to be built, or that sewage is pumped to Southside. I think the Government is on top of this."

During the summer, golf-ball sized lumps of sewage were found on some South Shore beaches, the result of raw sewage mixing with grease and clumping into balls.