A US $7.44 million water upgrade project which is expected to improve water quality for residents from Mero to Castle Comfort, has been launched.
Dubbed “The Third Water Supply Project Water Area-1 (WA-1) Network Upgrade” the project was launched at the Fort Young Hotel on Monday morning and according to member of the Board of Directors of DOWASCO, Kay Robinson, it is extremely important that water viability is improved in Dominica.
The project is being funded by a US $6.1 million loan from the Caribbean Development Bank and the rest of the money will come from the government of Dominica and DOWASCO. The CDB also gave a US$150,000 grant for technical study and capacity building.
Robinson said the area is affected by turbidity and the project will assist in alleviating that problem.
“WA-1 is frequently compromised by extreme turbidity levels that are often accompanied by extreme rainfall in these areas and we have seen a worsening of this in recent times. This results in frequent closures of the intake since the existing treatment facility is inadequate and storage is insufficient,” she noted.
The project comprises of three major areas: construction of a new intake at the Checkhall river approximately two kilometeres upstream from the existing intake; the upgrade of the network transmission and distribution system; construction of two distribution storage tanks of 100,000 gallons at Massacre and 250,000 gallons at Antrim; the upgrade of the existing Springfield intake; the Antrim filtration plant and the setting up of a leak detection and repair program.
It will also include ancillary work comprising of the access road and foot path to the new Checkhall intake.
Robinson noted that various benefits will be derived from the project. “Several benefits mainly improved water quality due to a relocated source and upgrade of the treatment plant, and consumers will be able to enjoy a more reliable water supply with minimal interruptions many major socio economic benefits,” she noted.
Meantime, Minister of Housing, Lands, Settlements and Water Resources Management, Reginald Austrie, is calling on the Dominican public to review water resource management.
“We continue to repeat and to say that we have 365 rivers… I am not sure when the last count was made but we might have a reduction in the number of rivers that we claim to have and I believe that is an awareness that we have carry across the country and we have to use all the institutions available to get that information across,” he said.
WA-1 is the largest out of 43 water areas island-wide servicing essential services including the Princess Margaret Hospital and various schools.
It accounts for 48 percent of total water consumption.
It is regarded as critical to the development of Dominica but inspite of this importance, Water Authorities say that WA-1 is vulnerable and remains vulnerable up to today.
The project is expected to last 42 months.
There is a solution to avoid damaging the roads. Run the pipes alongside the sidewalks, which would cause less damage and cost less than damaging the roads. I saw how useless, time consuming, and costly poor management can be. I say “poor management” in particular because after a road is built and broken down to run pipes is really “useless, time consuming, and POOR MANAGEMENT”. You know you have to run pipes, why not run the pipes at the same time while building the roads, or as I mentioned before, run the pipes alongside the sidewalks. What a way to put money into your pockets, waste contributions, and keeping the Island BEHIND.
What happened to good supervision to ascertain that the Island is IMPROVING?
My Word Unbelievable Morons, now say goodbye to the west coast road. Stupid people do stupid things. Poor planning. Height of stupidity.
The West Coast Road is no longer important here. It had its intended impact long time which was to get Dominicans all excited about their big highway and hail Skerrit as God himself.
Now it’s all about the US$7.44 miilion dollars.
Let it not be poor planning again, the Penville water project started 2010, to date 2013,its worse off than the beginning, somebody needs to intervene. MAGWASAH
“poor planning”, well my friend that is synonymous to Dominica, nothing is planned in DA, all adhoc.
dig up the road again, I hope they fix it when they are done and it is part of the whole project plan
Ask Chris Walters why he had to change the pipes…
Well this is a necessary debt for the benefit of the next generation, so for once I cannot condemn them.
If in fact it does cost US$7.44 million.
So i guest the just concluded resurfaced roads will be ripped up and an expected traffic nightmare for commuters..i hope u people work on weekends and nights in the populated areas…Everybody/country has debts even countries printing their own money.
LOOK OUT FOR THE WATER BILL After
Projects here, projects there, projects everywhere, debt, debt and more debt. Ahem, how will the next generation of Dominicans pay for all this debt when they are not employed?
Some of us want to add International Airport to this mountain of debt!!
The Donor countries will write it off….we need proper water facilities, airport, road amd road maintenance, infrastructure development..can you suggest how do we do this?
oh lawd they going to destroy the new road.pooooooooor planning again!!!!!!
Most of the works will not include trenching the road. It wil be on the river, two dams, a Scada system, improvement tot eh flitration plant and apart perhaps for a relatively small area at Antrim, the roads wil not be unduly damaged. Remeber when we (including myself) cried foul over the west coast water project and its possible impact on the new west coast road? With care we were able to manage and mitigate the damage.
Did we not have a NEW MAIN laid from Fnd Cole through to Mero and onwards in the last water project. Confirm ??????????
There is good debt and bad debt. Providing a source of good quality and readily availabe drinking water is essential for our development. Would it be better if our people had to haul themselves to the river to fill a gramoxone container every morning and evening?
Ahem
“We must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt.
We must make our election between economy and liberty
or profusion and servitude.
If we run into such debt, as that we must be taxed in our meat and
in our drink, in our necessaries and our comforts, in our labors and
our amusements, for our calling and our creeds…
[we will] have no time to think,
no means of calling our miss-managers to account
but be glad to obtain subsistence by hiring ourselves
to rivet their chains on the necks of our fellow-sufferers…
And this is the tendency of all human governments.
A departure from principle in one instance
becomes a precedent for [another ]…
till the bulk of society is reduced to be mere automatons of misery…
And the fore-horse of this frightful team is public debt.
Taxation follows that, and in its train wretchedness and oppression.”
implying this hasn’t already happened. Watch how paroes on the street living without tv, computer, smart phones etc while we slaving away at life draining jobs so we can have all the fresh new stuff. It’s easy to blame government and politics but in reality most of us are just doing it to ourselves.
You are so right!
@ Mori, dem fellas just dig the same Fond Cani road they fix months ago, u think they care about next generation.