Cedros/Icacos residents to get water relief

WITHIN the coming months, the Water and Sewage Authority (WASA) intends to spend $75 million to replace pipelines, create water storage facilities and drill new wells in the Cedros and Icacos areas.

Speaking during a visit to the area on Friday, Public Utilities Minister Robert Le Hunte said in order to get this done, WASA will depends on private sector investors. He said the authority earns between $700 million and $800 million annually while its expenditure is approximately $1.2 billion.

Le Hunte and Point Fortin MP – National Security Minister Edmund Dillon, visited the area to see what work had been done and what needed to be done.

Residents have been complaining of an inconsistent and inadequate water supply for months.

Le Hunte said this is because only four of WASA’s six wells are operational in the area and the authority is producing less than half of the current demand.

“Right now we are producing about 500,000 gallons of water, the demand is 1.2 million, so we are about 50 per cent in demand, we expect to get that 500,000 to up to 750,000 and we expect to be able to do that within the next month, so it will give some relief especially to the people in the Cedros/Icacos area.”

He said the issues the residents face can be seen in many other areas of the country.

“Going further down in the year we need to get that 750,000 up to 1.2 million and that requires us to dig some more wells and is part of the capital expenditure which we are looking to see how we could invest and how we could get the private sector to assist us in getting the drilling of the wells programme going.

When you leave this area and you go north, again you see a microcosm of the same situation again it is about production, we need about 2.2 million gallons of water and we are producing about 1.6 million, so there is a shortage between supply and demand.”

To bring them immediate relief, Le Hunte says, will cost approximately $30 million.

“When we looked at all the areas from a storage perspective, to drilling new wells, to changing out some of the pipelines, you are talking about this area needing about $75 million to get it up to where we would like. We have been looking for this area and the whole of Trinidad to inviting the private sector to assist and at least assist in the drilling of new wells and the maintenance of some of those wells. If some of that cost could go to the private sector in drilling new wells then the money could be focused on fixing the pipelines and assisting in storage.”