Rain brings some good news for WASA

The recent heavy rain has allowed an increase in pipe-borne water supplies in several areas across the country, the Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) has said.

The surface water treatment facilities in northeast, central and south Trinidad, it said, have increased water levels, leading to a steady supply in these areas.

This includes areas served by facilities such as North Oropouche, Aripo, Caura, Luengo and Naranjo and Acono water treatment plants (WTPs) as well as parts of north, central and southwest Trinidad served by the Caroni WTP.

WASA added that although the country is two months into the rainy season, the dams are still not at optimum capacity.

It said the harsh dry seasons of 2019 and 2020, and the drier-than-normal wet season of 2019 had not generated enough water to allow a regular daily supply to all households.

It said the water levels at the various dams as at July 31 stood at: Caroni/Arena 23.03 per cent, Hollis 27.85 per cent, Hillsborough 35.78 per cent and Navet 32.35 per cent.

WASA said it was "aware of the challenges facing customers in some areas, particularly those at high points or at the extremities of our distribution systems," affected by reduced production.

But, it said, “We continue to do our part to prudently manage the country’s available water resources and encourages customers to conserve their water use, while also adhering to the water use restrictions that remain in place.”

It added that it was also working to address water leaks and from April-June this year it had done 5,301 repair jobs on pipelines.

But it admitted, “The authority’s aged pipeline infrastructure means that our leak repair programme is an ongoing exercise, aimed at keeping the number of backlog leaks to a minimum.”

WASA said there were no planned water supply disruptions this weekend and encouraged members of the public seeking water to contact 709-7793 via WhatsApp only and 800-4420/4426 for truckborne water.

Requests can be made via the WASA Services App as well.