By YOURI KEMP
Tribune Business Reporter
ykemp@tribunemedia.net
A Cabinet minister yesterday said the Government has ordered two one-million gallon water storage tanks for central Eleuthera to ease ongoing supply shortages and disruption.
Alfred Sears, minister of public works and utilities, speaking ahead of the weekly Cabinet meeting said: “I want to really commend the chairman and staff of the Water and Sewerage Corporation, which as a result of the disruption have had to go into the wellfields and work, in many instances, overnight, trying to restore the supply of water in Eleuthera.
“We have ordered two storage tanks, one million imperial gallons each. Those tanks have been manufactured, and I understand will be available near the middle of next year. In the intervening period, temporary tanks are being secured and also the water wells in Eleuthera are being rehabilitated.”
The water shortages in central Eleuthera have coincided with commercial disputes between the Water & Sewerage Corporation and Aqua Design, which operates the reverse osmosis plant that supplies the former and its customers with water. “The Water & Sewerage Corporation has been engaged in negotiations with Aqua Design. There are a number of legacy debts owing to Aqua Design and other desalination companies,” Mr Sears said.
Robert Deal, the Water & Sewerage Corporation’s general manager, told Tribune Business the debt owed to Aqua Design is now less than $1m. He said this was a significant reduction from the $4.5m peak in 2021, which prompted Aqua Design’s first threat to disconnect water supplies.
Mr Sears, meanwhile, said of the debts: “Arrangements were made to pay in installments and that is being done. Some of the contracts, I think there are about 20 contracts, some of them were expiring at different times and that is being addressed by way of temporary extension.
“Currently the Water & Sewerage Corporation is working very aggressively to address the problems not just in the immediate, but also long-term, because the objective is to ensure that we have a sustainable, reliable supply of water.”
Bahamas Power & Light (BPL) outages have further disrupted Eleuthera’s water supply. Mr Sears explained: “When you have the disruption of electrical power supply, you also have a direct impact on the pumping of water. So clearly, because it is a core value of the public policy of the Government, we have to increase the incorporation of renewable energy in the generation of power.
“The IDB (Inter-American Development Bank) is working with the Government, and the Government will be rolling out a number of solar micro grids in the southern Bahamas as well as in Eleuthera. The Water & Sewerage Corporation, within the next month or so, will be commissioning two solar systems with the pumping station in Abaco. So we have to deal both with water and power, and move the country in terms of sustainability and more reliable systems for water generation.”
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