Congrats to Garth Saunders and CWSA

13.JUNE.08

Editor: The dry season may be coming to an end, as evidenced by the welcomed daily showers. As a resident of Prospect, I have observed a marked improvement in my water supply, compared to the last two years. In fact, this year, I can’t remember an instance where my supply was interrupted on account of the dry weather. So, was the dry season less intense this year than the previous two years? Apparently not.{{more}} On checking with the Central Water and Sewerage Authority (CWSA), their statistics show that there were more consecutive dry days this year than last year.

I, therefore, congratulate CWSA’s CEO, Garth Saunders, and his team for whatever they did to mitigate the interruptions in the water supply in Prospect during this year’s dry season.

As explained to me, early planning, continuous public awareness and the following costly but valuable investments ensured a better general water supply nation wide:

1. The implementation of a remote tank and system monitoring programme. This allowed for continuous monitoring and control of the main CWSA system from remote locations using computers. This also enabled the engineers and technicians to balance flows at critical times and to have a more even distribution of the water supply.

2. The incorporation of the Windward Water Supply Project into the CWSA’s network. This augmented the supply to all areas from Colonarie southwards to Prospect. Previously, about 70% of this area was fed from the Montreal system. This also helped to reduce the load on the Montreal system and allowed it to satisfy the reduced demand for most of the time.

I certainly noticed the difference, and for that I am grateful. It is my opinion that CWSA has enjoyed the benefit of good leadership. Daniel Cummings and, now, Garth Saunders have done exemplary work.

Now I think it’s time for the CWSA to turn its attention to Bequia and by extension the rest of the Grenadines. I know they have some considerations on the table, but I wonder if perhaps a feasibility study could be done on providing Bequia with water from the mainland via an undersea pipe. This may not be as far fetched as it sounds since significant head-end costs for storage and energy consumption would still have to be incurred for options such as barging or desalination. Desalination also has the added disadvantage of creating a negative environmental impact due to the high concentration of salt that has to be returned to an area in the sea, something Bequia and the rest of the Grenadines can ill afford.

Thanks again to Garth and his team for the improvements made towards ensuring a continuous water supply during the dry season.

Tony Regisford