Water supply problems may become a thing of the past for residents of Delices after that community’s new water supply system was commissioned on Friday with a ceremony in Petite Savanne.
The $3-million new water system was funded entirely by government.
“In the past, residents of Delices experienced a number of disruptions in their water supply system, sometimes lasting up to several days,” a Government Information Service (GIS) article stated. ”The Government of Dominica and the Dominica Sewerage and Water Company Limited (DOWASCO) sought to rectify this matter by implementing a new water supply system.”
DOWASCO’S General Manager Bernard Ettinoffe told GIS prior to the commissioning of the new water system that some delays did occur prior to the completion of the new water supply system. “Delices has experienced some delays for two reasons mainly. The first being land acquisition issues. We were unable on our own, to access land on which to build the road to serve the intake so we had to involve the Government. The Government acted swiftly and acquired land so that the project could continue. Nonetheless, this land issue delayed the project by about four months. Coupled with that, we had issues with very terrible weather conditions in the area last year and that delayed the contract another three months. So a project which should have been completed in five or six months, really took twelve months to completion,” he explained.
Ettinoffe said hooking up to DOMLEC’S power was the main detail left to be resolved as this water supply system is a pumping system. “We have installed two new pumps to complement the existing ram pumps so that when the ram pumps are unable to pump sufficient we will switch to the electric pumps. DOMLEC is working tirelessly at this point to ensure that the power supply to those pumps are completed by Friday 8th April, 2011. That is according to the last correspondence from DOMLEC. We intend however, to begin to serve the people as of this weekend from the new systems since we will be using just the ram pumps which are inefficient but because of the increased storage capacity. We have put in there a new storage tank of thirty thousand gallons (30 000) to complement the existing one of about seventeen thousand (17 000) gallons that is already there,” Etinoffe added.
This Government is doing some really positive things for its people. Delices has been without a suitable water supply for quite some time, say, several years, we had to travel to Boetica and sometimes to La Plaine to fetch some water.
Thanks God for our ParlRep Petter St. Jean and the Government for bringing the relief which we so badly needed.
Thanks Guys, Great Job, God bless you all.
Why dont they introduce a gravity fed system like in st vincent.St vincent have a very advance water supply system,they have very huge reservoir which are built on high elevation and are gravity fed to smaller tanks then to their customers,so they dont have to use any pumps and they dont have any problem with water,and the water is clean even when it rain.
Good job Dowasco/Govt. When it is good say it is.
si i bon di i bon
why are you guys making this a political issue that you did your job. I mean come on.
You the government its you job to get water to this places. though i applaud you for doing so when all the other government before did not. but stop tapping your selves on the back for doing your job.
Tell me what part of this report sounds like it has been made into a political issue to you, because I re-read it three times just to be sure and I don’t see it . You are the one introducing politics into this report.
Christ have mercy upon us. Did anyone tap themselves on the back? They simply said that they did something – that they did in fact do. Heavens! Let us live in peace and be encouragers to each other rather than put downers. Come on, man!
THe system commissioned on friday is the Petite Savanne water supply not the Delice water supply, i think so check your facts again.