First Peoples recreation site receives water supply

The Santa Rosa First Peoples Community recreational site, off the Blanchisseuse Road, now has a pipeborne water supply after the construction of a booster station and tank farm by the Water and Sewerage Authority. The project cost approximately $491,000.

At its commissioning on Tuesday, Public Utilities Minister Marvin Gonzales acknowledged the historical significance of the First Peoples of TT. He highlighted the importance of their cultural traditions and knowledge to the national, regional and global communities, particularly in the face of climate change and environmental degradation.

A release from WASA said owing to the project’s successful completion, the community, which consists of descendants of TT’s first inhabitants, will now have a reliable water supply for their residences, as well as for agriculture and ecotourism activities, bringing them closer to the goal of establishing a sustainable Amerindian heritage village.

Gonzales also announced that a project to provide the site with an electricity supply was almost complete, and said both initiatives would facilitate the community’s development.

“I have been informed that the supply of water and electricity to the area will meet irrigation, agricultural and developmental needs, thus ensuring the development of this site by facilitating the planting of cassava, the establishment of a herbarium, and the operation of eco-tours, among other activities.

From that perspective, the successful completion of these projects is a major step in the right direction, setting the stage for the continued development of this community that will in turn, serve the broader national, regional and global communities.”

The project was implemented under the ministry’s community water improvement programme (CWIP).

The release said, “The provision of water to the First Peoples recreational site is one of 33 successfully completed CWIP projects that have positively impacted the lives of over 100,000 citizens from underserved and, in some cases, unserved, communities across TT. As a result of this and other initiatives within the water sector, over 51 per cent of TT now receives a 24/7 water supply, an improvement from the last two years where this estimate stood at just 34 per cent.”