Castries, December 31, 2013 – The Water and Sewerage Company, Inc. (WASCO) has reopened lines to Vieux Fort.

A projection of Monday, December 30, 2013 was not realised as crews had to be withdrawn from the work site in the river because of more rain in the forest. WASCO is hopeful that we can begin to restore the water supply to parts of Vieux Fort by mid-afternoon to the end of today, December 31, 2013.

In the north of the island, the supply has been restored to many areas. However, low water pressures and low reservoir levels are hampering our ability to supply areas at higher elevations. Our personnel are exploring options to build water levels so areas that have been without a supply of water since the tough can begin to get pipe-borne water. Very shortly, WASCO will implement a system of valving coupled with some trucking to allow areas at higher elevations and at the ends of systems to receive water.

Crews are continuing to work on the Canaries system which sustained significant damage. WASCO is hoping that water will be flowing in Canaries again by the end of the week. Systems are back on line in Anse la Raye as power has been restored to our facility at Anse La Vedure.

Trucking to communities in Vieux Fort has put pressure on the Choiseul and Soufriere water supply systems. While the two communities have been back up shortly after the disaster, they have been providing support to Vieux Fort, which has been without a water supply since December 24, 2013. Once the situation in Vieux Fort normalises, areas in Soufriere and Choiseul will receive a more consistent water supply.

WASCO continues to deal with turbidity issues in Dennery. The company is hosting an Engineer from the organisation, Operation Blessings, which provided two (2) portable water treatment plants to WASCO after Hurricane Tomas. Those plants, which remain on island, will be evaluated to determine whether they are in proper working condition. We hope to use one of the portable plants in Dennery to mitigate the effects of turbidity and cause fewer closures on the system.

The supplies to Micoud, Desruisseaux and Ti Rocher, Micoud are expected to be restored tomorrow, January 1, 2014 as crews complete repair work on damaged infrastructure.

The Water and Sewerage Company, Inc. (WASCO) understands the anxiety caused by the short supply of water and thanks the public for being patient with us as we try to restore water supply to every area on the island in the shortest possible time. We will continue to provide regular updates as the information comes to hand.

For up to date information, you can visit us at on Twitter at www.twitter.com/wascoslu or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/wascoslu or call 457-3900.