The building that will house utility company STUCO’s new water plant which will be able to produce 500 cubic metres of potable water per day.
ST. EUSTATIUS--St. Eustatius Utility Company STUCO Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Fred Cuvalay extended his personal and his company’s apologies that during this time of drought the utility company is “unable to meet the demand for water.”
Cuvalay said this in providing an update about Statia’s water struggles and the means by which the company is trying to remedy the situation.
The average growth of connections was 15 per cent in the past four to five years, while the average consumption has increased by more than 20 per cent, Cuvalay explained. This has forced STUCO to resort to water rationing during which potable water is available twice daily: 5:00-8:00am and 5:00-8:00pm, to prevent the company from running out of water.
He said the company has been working “persistently” to resolve the challenges faced with the three “main facets in the chain of supply” to get water to customers’ connection point.
“Presently, during this drought, the demand for water on the island exceeds 450 cubic metres, or 120,000 gallons per day, while STUCO’s present net delivery is 360 cubic metres or 95,000 gallons per day.”
Besides the drought, the company has also faced other unexpected challenges with the leaking water pipes in the high-pressure zone in Lowertown, which required urgent repair.
Cuvalay said the company has had to replace about 700 metres of pipeline which is used to transport water more than two kilometres from the water plant to the storage tank in Lodi.
Due to the “stellar work” of STUCO’s water team, Cuvalay said the replacement of the water line, which was estimated to be completed by the end of June, is now expected to be completed by Sunday, June 14. The piping in Lowertown was expected to be completed over the weekend, with only Claes Gut remaining.
Cuvalay recognised the “tremendous effort” put forth by STUCO’s water distribution crew and their “persistence, motivation and the right attitude during this crisis to get the job done in an expedited manner.”
Stability is on the horizon, Cuvalay said, as STUCO is building the level of water in its storage tank. He said an assessment of the water supply will be carried out to see whether the hours of water provision to the public can be expanded by adding one hour to each block of the water-rationing period. If this shows stability and the company is able to maintain the volume of water in its storage tank, it will proceed to again increase the hours of water distribution to customers.
STUCO is presently taking three steps to resolve the structural deficit with its water supply, which are estimated to be completed in October. The first step is the expansion of the drinking water production capacity, which was contracted in early April.
The first containers for the escalation phase of the new 500-square-metre water plant and the other projects are expected to arrive in August.
The new water transport line will be installed with increased capacity from a four-inch pipe to a six-inch pipe of high-density polyethylene plastic which should last more than 20 years. The execution of the project is expected to commence August 17.
It is also planned to expand the potable water storage capacity from 900 cubic metres to 4,000 cubic metres or 1.05 million gallons, using a new tank. This project is expected to take six weeks to complete.
“We look forward to all three projects being completed in October as planned, with the expectation that they will not incur any delays due to logistics or any developing situation around the coronavirus pandemic, while certainly not looking forward to any delay as a consequence of the potential impact by a hurricane during this period, since we recognise that the execution of all these projects shall take place during the heart of the hurricane season,” Cuvalay said.
