Préfet Vincent Berton and Collectivité President Louis Mussington attempt to negotiate with SAUR strikers and union delegates on Christmas Eve.
MARIGOT--Water company producer/distributor SAUR confirmed drinking water has been restored to the whole of the French side since Saturday.
In a post to the population on Sunday, it said: “Production has been restored to 100% of its capacity and stocks are being replenished at a satisfactory rate. All districts have been supplied with water. The production plant is under increased surveillance. Our telephone hotline remains at your disposal for any malfunction noted: tel. (0590) 87.97.03.”
The latest news comes after Préfet Vincent Berton confirmed on Friday that an internal solution had been found to permit a second engine at the production plant in Galisbay to be restarted to produce a further 6,000 cubic metres of water.
This was 400 cubic metres short of what was needed to supply the entire French side, but nevertheless has produced some measure of relief. Berton called it “more or less a balance between supply and demand.”
Negotiations between SAUR regional management and the Union Général des Travailleurs de Guadeloupe (UGTG) delegation in Guadeloupe are continuing. The conflict in Guadeloupe and Martinique is separate from the conflict in Saint-Martin where negotiations are also continuing.
The production plant in Galisbay has been placed under the protection of the Gendarmerie to prevent any new disappearance of parts.
Earlier, SAUR Saint-Martin thanked its subscribers for their patience and resilience, and advised them to consume water responsibly until the plant was back up to full production.
The prefectural order to refrain from washing cars, watering lawns and flowers, and filling swimming pools still stands. Berton had also called for moderate consumption until the plant is working at full capacity again.
