WASA: We're tackling water-supply challenges amid rate-hike proposal

A PROPOSAL for a rate increase by the Water and Sewerage Authority’s (WASA) has been submitted to the Regulated Industries Commission (RIC), which will review and make decisions on the adjustment.

During a recommissioning ceremony on October 26, Minister of Public Utilities Marvin Gonzales stressed the importance of reducing WASA's dependence on government support, saying the increase is also essential for improving services.

In an interview with Newsday, outgoing acting CEO of WASA Kelvin Romain provided an overview of its ongoing efforts to address water-supply challenges, improve infrastructure and enhance customer engagement.

Romain discussed several planned projects aimed at bolstering water security in response to the growing impact of climate change on Trinidad and Tobago's water resources.

The issue of water metering came to the forefront in May 2021, after an interview with WASA’s then-executive director, Dr Lennox Sealy, published in the Sunday Guardian.

Sealy suggested customers should buy their own water meters to ease the financial burden on the state. In response, Gonzales said while the government was planning to restructure WASA, there were no immediate plans for nationwide metering. He acknowledged metering would play an important role in water management.

Earlier in 2020, then-minister of public utilities Robert Le Hunte resigned because of professional disagreements over policy positions, reportedly sparked by a clash with the cabinet over a $1.5 billion metering proposal.

Romain gave an update on the status of the metering system, saying metering customers is a significant undertaking and the process is being implemented in phases.

He said it depends on available funding, but over 500 domestic meters have been installed for customers in the Blue Range area of Diego Martin.

Additionally, 124 meters have been installed along the authority's five main transmission pipeline networks to better manage water supply.

These networks, which include long-haul pipelines transporting water from production areas to population centres, as well as urban and regional distribution networks, are essential for local water delivery.

Addressing aged pipelines, Romain said WASA is continuously replacing them as it expands its network to reach additional communities. Romain said over the past five years, WASA has completed 112 pipeline replacement and expansion projects across Trinidad and Tobago.

Romain also spoke about the commissioning efforts for 2024, saying three new wells have been commissioned in Las Lomas and Granville and work is under way to complete five additional wells by the end of the year in Mayaro, Freeport, Carapal and Granville. He said four wells have been rehabilitated and recommissioned in Paramin, Morne Diablo, Caparo and Wallerfield.

In October Gonzales also urged customers to conserve water in light of global warming, which has caused increasingly severe and prolonged droughts. With growing concerns about water supply caused by longer, drier seasons, attention has turned to WASA and its plans to address these challenges.

Romain said WASA’s daily water production capacity is approximately 243 million metric tonnes per day, sourced from 60 per cent surface water (reservoirs, rivers, and rural intakes), 20 per cent from underground wells and 20 per cent from desalination plants in Point Lisas and Point Fortin.

However, he acknowledged climate change is negatively affecting surface water sources, making the need for resilience-building projects more urgent.

To combat these challenges, Romain outlined several future initiatives, including redesigning intake systems and refurbishing water treatment plants. Planned upgrades include the Caura Intake redesign, refurbishing the Matura Intake and  rehabilitating north-coast facilities such as Tyrico, Blanchisseuse and La Fillette.

Romain said WASA is also exploring "innovative solutions and new water sources," including additional groundwater wells, new surface water sources and desalination plants.

Under the National Water Sector Transformation Programme and the National Water Stabilisation Improvement Programme, he said projects are under way to construct new water treatment plants in Santa Cruz and Goldsborough and to rehabilitate plants in Navet, North Oropouche, Guanapo, Chatham and Freeport.

Romain said new desalination plants are planned for Mayaro and Moruga, along with upgrades to the Carapal Water Treatment Plant. He said the expansion of groundwater sources has already led to the development of nine new wells and  rehabilitating or recommissioning 11 others over the past two years in underserved areas.

Plans are also in place to develop ten new wells in the Carapal/Palo Seco area to meet the water needs of the entire southwestern peninsula.

Responding to customer frustrations over inconsistent water supply, Romain acknowledged the challenges faced by many communities and said with the support of the Ministry of Public Utilities, WASA has been involved in planning and executing several projects aimed at improving service delivery.

Romain said over the past four years, more than 190 projects have been completed, benefiting approximately 200,000 people, and several additional projects are also scheduled "to begin in the near future."

These initiatives are part of a range of programmes aimed at improving water supply and infrastructure, including the Community Water Improvement Programme, the North West and Tobago West Water Supply Improvement Programmes, the Public Sector Investment Programme, the Well Development Programme, the National Water Stabilisation and Improvement Programme and the National Water Sector Transformation Programme, which is funded by the Inter-American Development Bank.

Romain said WASA is making strides in automating and digitising many of its core operations to enhance service efficiency. To date, 77 facilities have been fully automated and over 200 loggers installed along pipeline networks.

Logger infrastructure provides real-time monitoring and immediate data to the newly commissioned Operational Control Centre, which he says helps with improving decision-making and operational oversight.

Romain said these initiatives are part of WASA’s broader transformation strategy, which aims to realign operations to improve service levels and become more customer-focused.

About the proposed increase, Romain stressed any decision is the responsibility of RIC and not WASA and the authority has been engaging with communities directly through meetings, where concerns are heard and addressed and plans to improve services are shared.

He said WASA also maintains ongoing communication with customers through technical field officers and its customer response team. To improve accessibility, Romain said WASA has increased staffing at its call centre, reducing wait times to under a minute.

The call centre, he said, has significantly enhanced customer access, enabling quicker responses to requests for truck-borne water supply, queries, or reports.