Le Hunte: Only 5% of TT metered for water

PUBLIC Utilities Minister Robert Le Hunte said only five per cent of this country is metered for water and it would cost about $1.5 billion to meter the country.

He was speaking on Monday as the Standing Finance Committee considered the estimates and spending of the Public Utilities Ministry.

He said WASA's debt stands at $3 billion and a lot of money was spent on recurrent expenditure and capital expenditure.

"A lot of citizens complain about the service. This is where we are after spending that money."

He said conservation and demand management were two areas that have not been focused on and pointed out that only five per cent of the country is metered. Le Hunte said some work has been done in putting down some bulk meters this year, but the country needs to metered.

"Then you will find that the amount of water that individuals use, by virtue of being a little more conscious at having to pay for it, will actually reduce."

Le Hunte said there are too many individuals with leaks in their own homes that are not fixed and a lot of water is unaccounted for. He stressed that spending money in production and pumping water into porous lines was not the solution, but the solution was to fix lines and conserve water.

"The water that we presently have can supply all our needs."

Cumuto/Manzanilla MP Christine Newallo-Hosein asked about an increased allocation for water trucking and Le Hunte replied that, based on the levels of the dams, the ministry needed to plan for a dry season without the desired water levels and the increase in water trucking was in anticipation of low supplies.

Chaguanas West MP Ganga Singh asked if there was a dry-season management plan and Le Hunte said the plan the has been paid for and should be delivered. He said in anticipation of a severe dry season there was a plan to increase groundwater and work was also being done on booster stations. He explained that the country does produce a lot of water but the issue was that it was not being moved around as it should.

Le Hunte again encouraged people to conserve and reiterated that TT's water consumption levels were the highest in the Caribbean and higher than other parts of the world.

Pointe-a-Pierre MP David Lee asked about an $8 million allocation for security and Le Hunte said security had been increased as a result of vandalism and theft at a number of locations. Those that require manning included Clarke Road, Penal, El Socorro, Guanapo and Tucker Valley.

Le Hunte also announced that a "Tell Us" programme was to be launched to receive feedback from citizens on the service they receive from all utilities: WASA, T&TEC, TTPost and TSTT. He said this will revolutionise the level of service and hopefully can be launched before the end of the year.

Le Hunte also said there will not be increase in the water rate next year.