Only a reverse osmosis plant will correct water pressure problems

By TAMARA McKENZIE,Guardian Staff Reporter tamara@nasguard.com

Until the Water & Sewerage Corporation constructs a new reverse osmosis plant in the capital, the constant water woes experienced by more than 30,000 consumers is expected to continue.

Presently, the Corporation is faced with a water shortage “crisis” and is shipping less than its normal nine million gallons of water daily from Andros. Titus, the largest of two barges, has been experiencing mechanical problems since November and has to be towed to and from Andros on a daily basis with far less water in its tank.

According to Deputy General Manager of the Water & Sewerage Corporation, Godfrey Sherman, the Corporation has plans to construct a new reverse osmosis plant, which is expected to take some six months to be completed. The new plant which will be able to convert five million gallons of salt water to fresh water daily, will not come on stream until 2006.

“Salt water would be removed from the ground in Nassau and converted into fresh water. A similar plant is located at Windsor Field and converts some two million gallons a day into fresh water. Right now, the Corporation is looking for a suitable location to build another plant, possibly at Blue Hills,” Mr Sherman announced on Monday.

The Water & Sewerage GM said the new reverse osmosis plant should alleviate most of the water supply problems, but there may still be some “internal” distribution problems to deal with. He added, however, that such problems should be easier to address, once there is a constant supply of water for consumers in the capital.

Meanwhile, Mr Sherman said the Corporation will remain in a critical situation for the remainder of this week, pending the arrival of engine repair parts for the Titus.

“The actual part from the boat should be leaving here today and will be back here tomorrow, so by the end of the week maybe, we will be in a better state, but as of today we are just hand to mouth, so to speak,” he said.

Mr Sherman said if the weather improves this week, the Titus can bring about three million gallons of water daily.

He reminds consumers that the water pressure is high between the hours of 6 a.m. and 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. daily. He pointed out, however, that water only goes completely off in certain areas.

“It is not off right now if you go in the Grove. There, you would find water at any stand pipes, but it is only certain locations that go totally off and these are the areas that we have a difficulty with supplying,” he said.

The water shortage crisis came to a head in November, as the larger of its two barges, the Titus, which transports some two-and-a-half million gallons of water to the capital daily from Andros, experienced mechanical problems. The smaller tanker has a capacity of a million-and-a-half gallons of water daily. Fifty per cent of the Corporation’s storage also began to deplete rapidly and only 20 per cent was being shipped to the capital from Andros.

© 2005 The Nassau Guardian