By Samantha Simon
Antigua’s 11 million gallons of water storage remains a jarring 19 million gallons too little to accommodate the island’s population, according to APUA managers who addressed Cabinet on Thursday.
Despite this, Prime Minister Gaston Browne attributes much of the island’s water issues to mismanagement of water distribution, claiming on his radio show that some persons have been able to get water upon making calls to the state utility provider.
Furthermore, the Ffryes reverse osmosis plant is currently operating below full capacity due to the failure of critical components, causing it to be taken offline for maintenance.
These parts have been procured from an overseas supplier and are projected to be on island early next week, Cabinet notes said.
According to Public Utilities Minister Melford Nicholas, once production reaches seven and a half million gallons per day, the island’s water needs can be accommodated, with eight and a half million being the optimal amount needed.
He also went on to explain that should any of the water production sites require maintenance or repair, this can significantly disrupt water distribution, and this is without factoring in elements such as maintenance and distribution of the water lines.
Minister Nicholas broke down the situation further, pointing out that some plants such as the Ivan Rodriguez plant feed into reservoirs that then provide for a number of villages such as the Scott’s Hill and Gray Hill reservoirs, and should there be a disruption, it can be supplemented by the Parham plant, but this can still affect the downward flow to areas such as Five Islands.
He continued by explaining that the Parham plant produces as much as 70 percent of Antigua’s water. In the event of something happening to any of the mains – such as a recently broken 20-inch main that caused a halt in production due to reservoirs becoming filled over the three days it was down – other areas are impacted.
Nicholas said increased production is the first priority as there is a deficit, though this will be relieved to some degree with the commissioning of the second plant at Fort James at the end of this month. That, he said, will add another 5,000 gallons of water into production, bringing it to a total of one million gallons.
Also, the ultrafiltration system which had been ordered will be commissioned after its arrival in October this year. This should mitigate issues caused by the swells that occurred during the cold season that led to limited production.
It will also allow for water provided to cruise ships to be shifted from Ivan Rodrigues to the Fort James plant, freeing up more water to be reallocated to its reservoirs.
Nicholas also explained that a pressure reducing system has been implemented in the Fitches Creek area, which had been pinpointed as an area of high breakage due to the pressure it undergoes, causing a significant improvement in the water management and distribution in that area.
Nicholas projects that by April 2024 the island will produce enough water to meet the daily amount required. That will be achieved with the introduction of the Willoughby Bay plant in Bethesda which has been approved for installation by the DCA, adding over three million gallons, and a private operator who has shown willingness to provide as much as another two million gallons of water.
Despite this, repairs are required to the water lines as well as expansion of current storage capacity and further understanding of the hydraulics required to provide water at the correct pressure to residents.
The sister island will be receiving a second reverse osmosis plant which will be commissioned in July, increasing production there to 180,000 gallons per day, allowing them to meet the domestic and commercial demand on the island, including the new airport which is projected to open in October.
