July 23, 2024, Governor’s Harbour, Eleuthera: The Water and Sewerage Corporation (WSC) wishes to address the recent misinformation disseminated via social media by an individual attempting to mislead the public about our operations at the Naval Base site in Governor’s Harbour, Eleuthera.
The facts are as follows:
Water Source and Salinity: The water extracted from the desalination plant supply wells is salty sea
water, sourced from more than 200 feet below the surface. This water has a salinity level higher than that
of seawater found on the beach and does not interact with the freshwater lens of the aquifer.
Old Water Storage Tank: As the Corporation has shared in several prior communications, the
Corporation, with funding from the Government, has constructed a new 1,000,000 imperial gallon glass
coated steel tank and a new 500,000 imperial gallon ModuTank (bladder tank) at the Naval Base facility.
Works are now actively in progress on site to install the permanent pipework for these tanks connecting
them to the desalination plant and pumping station and once that is completed, the old steel storage tank,
which has some minor leaks, will be taken out of service as previously shared. In due course, all four (4)
of the old steel tanks on site will be demolished and discarded.
Leak Detection and Repairs: Leaks in a water transmission and distribution system are a normal
occurrence in man-made infrastructure. We continue to conduct leak detection campaigns on all of our
infrastructure around The Bahamas and as a part of our capital works planning, the Corporation with the
support of the Ministry of Finance is actively negotiating a major capital works programme for the
Corporation that will include a Family Island Non-Revenue Water Programme similar to the programme
that was successfully executed in New Providence. We are also collaborating with the Ministry of Finance
and the Ministry of Works and Family Island Affairs on a Public Private Partnership (PPP) road paving and
water infrastructure project for Eleuthera. This project includes significant water infrastructure
improvements, with details shared recently by the Honorable Minister of Works and Family Island Affairs.
Government Engagement: Contrary to claims, a town hall meeting was held in Governor’s Harbour on
June 27. The meeting was attended by the Honorable Clay Sweeting, Member of Parliament for Central
and South Eleuthera and Minister of Works and Family Island Affairs; the Honorable Leon Lundy, Minister
of State in the Office of the Prime Minister with responsibility for the Corporation, the Hon. Sylvanus Petty,
Deputy Speaker and Member of Parliament for North Eleuthera, along with senior WSC officials and senior
officials from the Bahamas Power and Light Company. During that meeting, solutions were presented to
address local concerns.
Desalination Plant Update: On July 21, WSC released a statement updating the public on the Naval
Base desalination plant and we can now provide the following further updates: –
As of yesterday, July 22, both desalination trains are now operational, producing over 450,000 imperial
gallons per day.
A new 600,000 imperial gallons per day desalination unit arrived on site on Saturday July 20. This unit
is now being installed and should be commissioned in the coming weeks. Once commissioned, the existing
desalination trains will be taken offline for critical repairs and maintenance to improve their reliability.
Works will commence shortly on a new water pumping station for the Naval Base facility to improve the
robustness and reliability of our operations to meet water demands from all of our customers in Central
Eleuthera.
We urge the public to disregard the misleading claims and to rely on official statements from WSC and
government officials. We remain committed to providing reliable water services and infrastructure
improvements for the residents of Eleuthera.
The post WATER AND SEWERAGE CORPORATION RESPONDS TO MISINFORMATION ABOUT GOVERNOR’S HARBOUR SITE appeared first on ZNS BAHAMAS.
