Minister: Improved water supply coming in 2024

Public Utilities Minister Marvin Gonzales says his ministry will be putting several measures in place to to ensure more people are supplied with water in 2024.

Speaking during his contribution to the budget debate on Wednesday in Parliament, Gonzales said he understood the pain of protesters who wanted water.

“I didn’t have pipeborne water in my community. I grew up having to carry water from a river and I remember when the first standpipe was introduced. So when people burn tyres and protest, it pains me, because I know how they feel. No member of the House can say they reached out to me about water supply and I didn’t respond.”

Gonzales said in the height of the rainy season, the Hollis Dam, which is supposed to produce 8.5 million gallons per day, was producing 5.5 million gallons per day. He said the Met Office had said that TT would continue to experience hot days, and there was the possibility production would fall below the 5.5 figure.

He said his ministry had created a national integrated water supply policy for TT, the first in its history. He said while this was being implemented, there must be plans and programmes that would bring short-term relief to citizens.

Gonzales said one measure his ministry had been putting in place over the last two years was the Community Water Improvement Programme (CWIP), which had already benefited 190,000 people.

“Some of the projects involved in CWIP include laying down of pipelines, creating water treatment plants, and installing booster stations. Some of the areas which benefitted from the programme were St James, Five Rivers, Penal, Pt Fortin, Tabaquite, Fyzabad, Valencia, Mt Lambert, and Barataria.

"We installed three to four new booster stations in Shirvan Road and the water situation on the island of Tobago improved tremendously. In addition, we were able to desilt the Hillsborough dam at a cost of $63 million, with $10 million in savings, and benefiting 15,000 citizens.”

Gonzales said three to four new wells would be commissioned in Freeport, and the water treatment plant there would be refurbished.

He said, in early 2024, the country would see the rollout of a number of plants and projects to refurbish the Guanapo water treatment plant, which would serve Arima and environs, benefiting 30,000 people, with water production being increased by over two million gallons per day. He said it would bring a 24/7 supply of water to those areas.

“We will be doing the same for the North Oropouche water treatment plant which serves from Manzanilla to Five Rivers, and over 120,000 people will see an improvement in the supply of water when that plant is fully refurbished. Simultaneously the Freeport, Navet, and Chatham water treatment plants will be undergoing major refurbishment in 2024, improving the supply of water to over 600,000-700,000 citizens in TT.”

He said, in Santa Cruz, a new water treatment plant would be installed which would produce four million gallons of water per day, funded under the Inter-American Development Bank, and bring 24/7 supply to areas of Santa Cruz and San Juan.

He said water from the Caroni Water Treatment Plant would then be able to be redirected to areas that were unserved or underserved.

Gonzales said, in the northwest region which extends from Mt Lambert to Chaguaramas, many booster stations were in a state of disrepair. In many areas there was unplanned development, homes on hills, and dilapidated infrastructure.

“We decided to put together a northwest water improvement programme to improve the lives of 300,000 people in that region. Over 50 projects identified under this programme will come into effect before the end of the year, and in the first two-three months of 2024, most of these projects will come into full fruition, improving the living circumstances and water supply of 300,000 citizens.”

Gonzales said he recognised the cries from the people in the areas of Cedros, Princes Town, Mayaro, Icacos and others on the extremities of the water distribution system from the Navet and Caroni water treatment plants.

“What we plan to do in the next 3-4 months is to localise sources of water in these communities by increasing water production and bringing relief to so many of these citizens who are not getting an adequate supply of water.

"I wish to assure every single person: I am listening and hearing your cries. And with the programmes and plans we have put together, I feel a sense of comfort that within the next six-12 months, many of the communities in TT who are experiencing an unreliable supply of water, that relief will come your way.”