By New Democratic Party
The New Democratic Party (NDP) government wasted no time in responding to the water shortage in the Southern Grenadines. Their swift and decisive response to the water shortage underscores their dedication to effective governance and their readiness to tackle pressing issues head-on.
Parliamentary Representative for the Southern Grenadines, Honorable Terrance Ollivierre, along with Minister with responsibility for the Central Water and Sewage Authority (CWSA), Honorable Daniel Cummings, assured residents that the NDP government has been working tirelessly with various stakeholders, both on mainland St. Vincent and in Union Island, to effectively address the water shortage. They emphasized the government’s commitment to implementing immediate solutions and long-term measures to ensure reliable access to water for all the Grenadine islands.
Speaking on the Agency for Public Information, Minister Ollivierre said, “Because of hurricane Beryl and the havoc that it caused in the Southern Grenadines, we realize that most of the cisterns on the islands and also people’s systems at home were severely damaged. In parliament, while in opposition, I made the point that the cisterns in the islands needed to be cleaned, but I was ridiculed for that. Lo and behold, what I’ve said turned out to be true because if the situation had been remedied at that time, we would have been in a much better situation to provide the water that the people in the Grenadines need.”
Minister Cummings noted, “The situation in the Grenadines with respect to water this year is one of the toughest. And I first want to put it into perspective. Hurricane Beryl damaged significant numbers of roofs in the Grenadines, and many of them are still not restored even after this length of time. That means that a lot of the guttering that channels the water from the roofs into people’s private systems are not functioning. It also did some significant damage to the catchment areas, the public catchment areas, in that they were highly polluted and they haven’t been properly addressed as yet.
“But I want to let the people of the Grenadines, and in particular the Southern Grenadines know that the CWSA has been working feverishly. In fact, I have, as the minister responsible for water, been in regular contact with the staff at all levels of the water authority to gain an appreciation of what they’re doing and to urge their extra effort to ensure that the supplies in the Grenadines are addressed. And indeed, the ships have been going down on a regular basis to Bequia and as far as Union Island in the Southern Grenadines to ensure that a minimal amount of water is available to the population.
“The CWSA was to have installed proper water supply systems in all of the Grenadines Islands. In fact, I can tell you that when I was at the water authority back in 2003 and 2004, the plans were already in place. For whatever reason, the previous government failed to implement these provisions. Now, we are at a stage where we are about to implement a significant investment in water supply on all the main islands of the Grenadines. But until that is done, we are putting in place short-term measures to ensure the supply is adequate.
“On Union Island in particular, we have been in discussion with a private investor who has built a desalination plant and it’s almost ready. We’re working with him to speed up the operationalization of the plant. And of course, the CWSA has a critical role to play in testing to ensure the water is of the right quality and in distributing it to the population. As a government, we took the responsibility to help to provide more storage facility in order to make it practical to supply the water, because the desalination plant will be producing at a particular rate, and you have to have the ability to store the water because you don’t have a distribution system on the islands as you have on the mainland. So, storage in suitably sized tanks, and from there, the population will be served with the water. I think that should be on stream from next week, where the private operator will be able to help us and CWSA supply the water people need.
“We are continuing the process of supplying water from mainland St. Vincent via the boat. As has been happening for some time. We have also arranged for the CWSA trucks to be available, and also smaller transportation on the island would be available to make sure the water is transported as they are accustomed to doing, they will be able to carry water at different locations throughout the island so that people can get the water that they need.
“The other thing to note, particularly as it relates to the Grenadines, there is no distribution system for water on the islands. The projects coming on stream in the near future will not just deal with the plant that produces the water, but will also include adequate storage at an elevation that will allow water to flow by gravity to the homes. So, there will be transmission and distribution infrastructure on the islands for a comprehensive water distribution system, as you would expect in a normal society. It is so regrettable that the previous government failed to act on this essential project, but we are going to make sure this comes through as soon as possible.”
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