New Providence, The Bahamas: Tuesday, April 25th, 2023 | The Corporation (WSC) is pleased to have concluded and signed today an Industrial Agreement with the Bahamas Utility Services and Allied Workers Union (BUSAWU) who represents the WSC non-management staff and covers the period 1st July, 2022 to 30th June, 2025.
Our employees are our most important resource and we extend our sincere thanks to each and everyone of them from Grand Cay in the north to Inagua in the south. The last WSC – BUSAWU Industrial Agreement expired on 30th June, 2018. However, despite this long wait, our employees responded in fine form to the challenges during and post Hurricane Dorian in September 2019 and to the global COVID 19 pandemic which commenced in March 2020. While so many businesses were shuttered partially or fully during COVID 19, our employees worked day and night, seven (7) days a week, to ensure our valued customers across The Bahamas had ready access to a reliable supply of potable water and to operate and maintain our sewerage systems.
We sincerely thank BUSAWU’s President – Mr. Dwayne Woods and his team for partnering with us over the last year to improve the work environment at WSC. Our focus during the negotiations were to maintain, at all times, a harmonious industrial relations space characterized by transparency and open, honest communications between the parties.
Today’s signing is only possible thanks to the leadership and fulsome support of the Honorable Prime Minister, the Honorable Minister of Works & Utilities, the Honorable Minister of Labour & Immigration, WSC’s Executive Chairman & Board, the Financial Secretary, the Government’s Chief Labour Consultant and so many other stakeholders.
This Industrial Agreement, sets the framework for WSC’s current 386 non-management employees. Noting that the staff have not received any general increases in pay since the last agreement expired in 2018, this agreement includes for the staff to receive four (4) general increase increments over the period 2022 to 2025.
We also note the presence today of the President of the Water and Sewerage Management Union (WSMU) which represents WSC middle management staff. The last WSC – WSMU Industrial Agreement expired on 30th June, 2013 and we look forward to concluding our ongoing negotiations with them shortly and signing a new agreement for the period 2022 to 2025 in the next several weeks.
WSC Executive Chairman, Board and Executive Management thanks the leadership of both Unions and we look forward to working together as a team as we build an innovative, vibrant, dynamic WSC on the pathway of becoming a world class water and sanitation utility that meets and exceeds its customers’ expectations, is financially viable and operates in full compliance with all environmental and regulatory standards. ### About the WSC
Since 1976, The Water and Sewerage Corporation has been committed to fostering growth and excellence in service quality through the management, upkeep, distribution, and development of water resources. The Corporation has a team of over 400 dedicated employees across the nation who share a passion for delivering service excellence, which is the guiding light that drives and sustains the relationships with customers, employees, and the communities that the Corporation serves. To learn more visit wsc.com.bs or our social media pages (Facebook, Instagram, and You Tube).
Contact:
Nikolette Elden | T: 302-5742 |E: wcnelden@@wsc.com.bs

New Providence, The Bahamas: The Corporation (WSC) is pleased to announce that we have signed a Contract Extension with MIYA Bahamas Limited to extend our New Providence Non-Revenue Water (NRW) Contract up to 31st December, 2026 which is inclusive of a comprehensive plan to transition the management of the NRW programme from MIYA to WSC.
The original Contract was signed on February 17, 2012, and expired on April 16, 2022. After review, it was decided to extend the contract to December 31, 2026 to allow for a planned and structured transfer of responsibility for this programme from MIYA Bahamas Limited to the Corporation when the new administration took office in September 2021.
This 4-year extension is valued at $19.1 million dollars which includes $14.5 million dollars in fixed fees and $4.6 million in performance fees. When combined with the prior Contract, the total Contract price to date is $106,746,750.
Partnerships of this nature are ones we see as the future of this Corporation driven by innovation. The principal highlights of this Contract Extension are: –

1. A focus on building the institutional capacity within WSC with a WSC shadowing team fully in place by the end of 2023 (Year 1) and this team fully capable of taking over the project by the end of 2025 (Year 3).
2. The achievement of a NRW target of 1.5 million imperial gallons per day by the end of 2026 (Year 4). The present NRW is in the 3.5 million imperial gallons per day range.
   When project work began in January 2013, the NRW was 6.87 million imperial gallons per day, and WSC was having difficulty supplying New Providence with water continuously for 24 hours a day. Instead, water supply was being rationed with many areas without water supply for several hours each today. Our sales were in the range of around 5.3 million imperial gallons per day and it was difficult for us to attract any new major customers given our very challenging circumstances.
   As we prepare to observe Earth Day on April 22nd, we are reminded of the significant choices the WSC had to make in 2010 on whether to continue expanding the production of energy-intensive desalinated water, which is highly dependent on imported fossil fuels. We made the bold decision to implement a program to reduce NRW based on performance, using water leading NRW experts in collaboration with Bahamian field teams and contractors.

This programme was honored with the 2022 WEX (The Water and Energy Exchange) Global Award in the category of Innovation in Financial Partnership held in Valcencia, Spain. Also, at the recent Caribbean Regional Conference held in Trinidad; this NRW programme was touted as a regional success story.
According to the project’s performance targets, it is predicted that the program has already saved close to 13.68 billion imperial gallons of water. By the end of 2026, these savings should reach 19.75 billion imperial gallons. The amount saved on water purchases is around $153,062,500, however that figure excludes the cost of any new infrastructure put in place as part of the project nor other WSC internal operational efficiency improvements.
Most importantly, the NRW programme has facilitated a marked increase in the reliability and continuity of WSC’s New Providence water supply with 24/7 supply now in place for many years and in parallel, WSC has been able to increase our water sales from approximately 5.3 million imperial gallons per day in 2013 to over 7.5 million imperial gallons per day with no increase in water production.
Most importantly, the NRW programme has enabled a significant improvement in the consistency and reliability of the Corporation’s New Providence water supply, which is now available around-the-clock for many years. In addition, WSC has been able to increase its water sales from about 5.3 million imperial gallons per day in 2013 to over 7.5 million imperial gallons per day with no increase in water production.
This Administration’s efforts to put the Corporation on the path to becoming a world-class water and sanitation utility that meets and exceeds its customers’ expectations, is financially viable, and operates in full compliance with all environmental regulations are dependent on the success of this project, which the Corporation is extremely pleased with. The continued success of this project in New Providence and the planned implementation of a similar project in the Family Islands are also crucial pillars in this Administration’s efforts. ### About the WSC
Since 1976, The Water and Sewerage Corporation has been committed to fostering growth and excellence in service quality through the management, upkeep, distribution, and development of water resources. The Corporation has a team of over 400 dedicated employees across the nation who share a passion for delivering service excellence, which is the guiding light that drives and sustains the relationships with customers, employees, and the communities that the Corporation serves. To learn more visit wsc.com.bs or our social media pages (Facebook, Instagram, and You Tube).
Contact:
Nikolette Elden | T: 302-5742 |E: wcnelden@@wsc.com.bs

ELEUTHERA, BAHAMAS: The Corporation is pleased to announce the commissioning of the Russell Island Water Supply Project that included the installation of over 7,000 feet of 4-inch and 3,000 feet of 2-inch PVC water mains to serve over 100 homes on the island at a cost of approximately $600,000 utilizing the Corporation’s personnel and equipment in conjunction with various local subcontractors. Russell Island is rapidly expanding and the Corporation appreciates the importance of the provision of high quality piped potable water to sustain the development of the island.
Under the ministerial leadership of The Hon. Alfred Sears, KC, MP and its Board, led by Hon. Sylvanus Petty, MP, the Corporation’s Management has been charged with the urgent task of the development and implementation of an Action Plan to improve the reliability of the Corporation’s supply to all existing customers across the country, and to extend piped potable water supply to all remaining homes and businesses without a supply at the earliest possible opportunity.
With respect to Eleuthera specifically, this Action Plan to date includes: –

1. The Corporation has contracted over $6,250,000 in storage tank works for Eleuthera. This includes: –
   A. Refurbishment of the existing 365,000 imperial gallon storage tank on Spanish Wells.
   B. 1,500,000 imperial gallons in new potable water storage tanks for the Bogue and another 1,500,000 imperial gallons for the Naval Base. These works have commenced in phases and will be fully completed by this summer.
   C. 500,000 imperial gallons in new potable water storage tanks for Harbour Island. This Contract was recently awarded and we are awaiting the Contractor’s timeline.
2. Working closely with our Desalination Contractor to improve the reliability of all of our desalination plants on Eleuthera and to expand the desalination production capacity at both our Bogue and Naval Base facilities. Two (2) desalination plants with a combined capacity of approximately 260,000 imperial gallons per day have arrived in New Providence and are presently being cleared. It is expected that these units will be shipped to our Naval Base facility shortly and will be fully operational by late April 2023 increasing the overall production capacity of that plant from the present 450,000 imperial gallons per day to 710,000 imperial gallons per day. At the Bogue, the plan is to increase the production capacity from 600,000 imperial gallons per day to 800,000 imperial gallons per day and we are awaiting the Contractor’s formal timeline on those works. These desalination improvement works are valued at several million dollars.
3. The Corporation in conjunction with the Ministry of Finance is presently negotiating with the Caribbean Development Bank for a Bahamas Water Supply Project Phase II Loan in the range of $25,000,000 to $30,000,000. It is estimated that between $5,000,000 to $10,000,000 of this amount will be dedicated to improving critical water transmission and distribution mains across Eleuthera.
4. The Corporation is working with our utility partner, the Bahamas Power and Light Company Limited (BPL) and our Ministry – the Ministry of Works & Utilities to address the power supply/demand issues at our desalination facilities and this includes ongoing discussions to introduce alternative energy supply solutions for these plants.

As recently announced by Minister Sears, the Government is determined to position “WSC on the path to becoming a world class water and sanitation utility that meets and exceeds customer expectations, is financially viable and operates in full compliance with all environmental and regulatory standards”. The Corporation has accepted this challenge and we are working to improve the level of our service to all customers across Eleuthera and The Bahamas.