BACK TO WELL WATER - Anguillian

[Anguillan newsboy]

After having an island-wide system of desalinated water from the sea at Crocus Bay for a number of years, Anguilla is to commission a series of boreholes in the well field in the Valley Bottom area where the streams are plentiful and have virtually being going to waste.



L-R: Kenn Banks, Larry Franklin, Daniel Cummings and Vanroy Hodge The Anguilla Government, in keeping with its 2005 policy document, is setting up a state-owned Water Corporation of Anguilla to manage and operate a piped water system in such a manner that the public has a reliable, efficient and economic supply of potable water. the Corporation will maintain and repair the water and upgrade and extend the waterworks distribution system as feasible.

Information about the new Water Corporation was given at a recent press briefing by Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Infrastructure, Larry Franklin; Chairman of the Interim/Shadow Board, Kenn Banks, Acting Water Engineer/Manager, Vanroy Hodge; and Regional Water Engineering/Utility Management Consultant, Daniel Cummings.

Anguilla is presently being served by Aqua Design which has been providing desalinated water from its Crocus Bay sea water plant. The water is pumped into reservoirs at Crocus Hill for distribution. It is envisaged that this system willl be around for some time to compliment the water supply from wells. The brackish water from the well field on the farmland of the Agriculture Department will also be stored at Crocus Hill where a plant will process the well water at a more economical rate than the present desalinated sea water. Tenders for contracts have already been issued and the plant should be ready for work within six months.

“At present our water distribution network is expanding and we are having challenges with meeting demand,” Mr. Vanroy Hodge said. “With the implementation of this new plant it will help us to meet demand as Anguilla continues to grow. We expect that we will have significant use for that plant (sea water desalination) as well. The main purpose of acquiring the proposed plant is to purchase water at a more economical rate.”
Mr. Franklin explained that the Water Corporation of Anguilla would have exclusive rights to the distribution of water within a private compound or by other means. Among the reasons he gave for the establishment of the Water Corporation, as set out in the Government’s policy document, were the reduction of technical and financial losses experienced by the water utility; extension of the public water distribution system to un-served areas; transformation of the Water Department into a commercially-driven enterprise; provision of adequate human, financial and other resources required to carry out its mandate; provision of universally affordable public water supply and universal access. He stated that Unaccounted For Water (UFW) was about 70% of water purchased, while the largest contributing factor to this UFW was theft of water estimated at 50% of the total water purchased. “This will be addressed through a loss reduction programme which would include an automatic water metering system, a district metering system and pressure zoning,” Mr. Franklin pointed out.

Under the structure of the Board, there are six members appointed by the Governor-in-Council, one of whom will be Chairman. A maximum of two members will be public officers. The Chairman of the Interim/Shadow Board is Mr. Kenn Banks, former Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Infrastructure. The other members are Mr. Fabian Proctor, Mr. Evans Brooks, Ms. Cossilda O’Loughlin, Mrs. Christine Vida Lloyd-Richardson and Mr. Larry Franklin.

The Government of Anguilla has retained the services of Mr. Daniel Cummings to provide technical and other advice to the Interim/Shadow Board and the Government on the water corporatization project.

The background status and summary of activities are as follows:
In October 2006, the Government of Anguilla gazetted the Water Corporation of Anguilla Bill, 2006 for consultation purposes only. In March 2007 an information leaflet/full page ad was published in The Anguillian. A Water Consultant was appointed in July 2007 to ***ist with the corporatization of the Water Department. A Shadow Board was appointed in 2007. The Draft Water Corporation of Anguilla Bill has been revised and will be gazetted shortly for additional input and comments from the public.

It is expected that the Bill will be laid before the House of ***embly during the month of June or July 2008. The Ministry of Infrastructure is in the process of hiring a CEO and Water Engineer for the Water Corporation. The Acting Water Engineer/Manager will be going to the UK in September to pursue post-graduate studies in water and wastewater engineering. The Shadow Board and the Ministry of Infrastructure are in the process of coordinating some information sessions so as to further enlighten the general public on the process with respect to the corporatization of the Water Department.