By Charminae George
Communities near the Fort James reverse osmosis plant are set to benefit from upgrades designed to increase water production.
Areas north of Newgate Street and west of Friars Hill Road—including McKinnons, Yorks, Villa, Point and Fort Road – are the main beneficiaries of this upgrade. Upper Gambles and Clare Hall could also benefit based on consumption patterns, according to the Antigua Public Utilities Authority (APUA).
Following the June 30 completion of the work, the water producing capacity of the plant doubled, increasing from 500,000 gallons per day to one million gallons per day.
The expansion cost several million dollars, according to Public Utilities Minister Melford Nicholas, speaking at a press conference following a media walkthrough of the plant yesterday.
“The construction of this facility and equipping it, all of the procurement that has gone into it, and commissioning it so far, our investment is topping out at US$6 million,” he stated.
Future additions to the plant will include a stand-by generator which will mitigate against electricity outages due to high winds.
“Because this plant is required to produce water [and] relies on that electricity to produce that water, we have to…have a standby generator facility as well,” Nicholas stated.
Ian Lewis, APUA’s Water Business Unit Manager, reiterated the authority’s goal to provide water to residents of Antigua and Barbuda 24 hours a day.
He stated the timeline for this goal, next year, will be achieved by replacing aged piping to reduce leaks, among other improvements. He added that the authority also plans to address the billing system.
Elsworth Martin, APUA’s General Manager, indicated that the Fort James reverse osmosis plant was conceptualised in 2018 and constructed in April 2022.
According to APUA, the total water demand of the population is approximately eight million gallons per day, while the total water production by the reverse osmosis plants across Antigua averages about 6.5 to 6.8 million gallons per day.
