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02nd
March 2010
Sourcing
Water
Stan Bishop
Agriculture
minister Ezechiel Joseph says government is
carefully monitoring the current low level of
water available at some of the island’s
main sources.
The VOICE spoke to the minister as he attended
a health camp hosted last Saturday at the La
Guerre Health Facility. Just about twenty yards
from the health facility, three water wells
that, according to residents, “never run
dry,” are being used for laundry and for
drinking water purposes.
Residents told The VOICE that the wells have
been there for decades but attempts to get the
relevant authorities, including WASCO, to develop
the infrastructure to make the location more
sanitary, have been futile. This situation,
Joseph told The VOICE, will be remedied within
the next two weeks.
“When I came in as parliamentary representative,
one of the main challenges I noticed the people
in this area had was a reliable source of water,”
Joseph said. “The wells, based on discussions
with people in the area, have a consistent supply
of water and my intention was to really dam
the wells, put the necessary water pipes, and
erect the necessary laundry units and things
like that.”
He said when he engaged WASCO officials with
the idea, he was told that the plan at the time
was unnecessary since the water company had
done an entire upgrade of the Hill 20 water
facility. WASCO, he said, had indicated that
Hill 20 would have been able to satisfy the
water supply needs of residents within the Babonneau
constituency.
“Given the crisis we’re now faced
with, we have to explore all possiblities with
regards to providing that service to our residents.
In fact, we are now revisiting the Ravine Poisson
Dam and the Vanard Dam; we are recommissioning
these dams so that they can provide some level
of water to residents. In fact, based on calculations,
we estimate that we should be getting at least
one million gallons on a daily basis,”
the agriculture minister said.
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With respect
to the La Guerre facility, the minister said
that he has also engaged WASCO again and an
engineer has since given some recommendations
to the minister. Joseph said he has given
the green light to the recommendations so
that the tanks could be cleaned, sealed and
have at least three standpipes in place to
prevent further risks of contamination. Work
on the project is scheduled to begin this
week, Joseph said.
Joseph said a similar situation exists at
La Croix Chaubourg, an area within the Babonneau
constituency, which will receive some attention
for upgrade. The recommissioning of a water
source at Paix Bouche, he added, would provide
adequate water supply for residents in that
area, Boguis, and the other surrounding areas.
An estimated $500,000 quotation to establish
a 1.6 million gallon tank for that project
is awaiting funding, he noted.
Joseph said despite efforts at alleviating
the water crisis in his constituency, a concerted
effort is also being done on a national level
to curb the unusually dry spell the country
is currently experiencing. Water supply from
the John Compton Dam to the north of the island
has had to be limited, with authorities issuing
an order for citizens to avoid wasting water.
In the south, Joseph told The VOICE, steps
are being taken to address the problem of
low water supply.
“We are also aware of the opportunities
at Le Paradis. There is an underground supply
of water there and the owners have agreed
to work with WASCO and government. We are
going to establish a water pump to distribute
water from Dennery to Vieux Fort. Therefore,
the water from Le Paradis will be for people
from Dennery down to Vieux Fort. These are
just some of the short-term measures that
we’re looking at with regards to how
we can provide the level of support to persons
with regards to water,” Joseph said.
Discuss
Story
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