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 seawater, sourced from more than 200 feet below the surface. This water has a salinity level higher than thatof 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, theCorporation, with funding from the Government, has constructed a new 1,000,000 imperial gallon glasscoated 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 connectingthem 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 normaloccurrence in man-made infrastructure. We continue to conduct leak detection campaigns on all of ourinfrastructure around The Bahamas and as a part of our capital works planning, the Corporation with thesupport of the Ministry of Finance is actively negotiating a major capital works programme for theCorporation that will include a Family Island Non-Revenue Water Programme similar to the programmethat was successfully executed in New Providence. We are also collaborating with the Ministry of Financeand the Ministry of Works and Family Island Affairs on a Public Private Partnership (PPP) road paving andwater infrastructure project for Eleuthera. This project includes significant water infrastructureimprovements, 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 onJune 27. The meeting was attended by the Honorable Clay Sweeting, Member of Parliament for Centraland South Eleuthera and Minister of Works and Family Island Affairs; the Honorable Leon Lundy, Ministerof 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 seniorofficials from the Bahamas Power and Light Company. During that meeting, solutions were presented toaddress local concerns.
Desalination Plant Update: On July 21, WSC released a statement updating the public on the NavalBase 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 imperialgallons per day.
A new 600,000 imperial gallons per day desalination unit arrived on site on Saturday July 20. This unitis now being installed and should be commissioned in the coming weeks. Once commissioned, the existingdesalination 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 therobustness and reliability of our operations to meet water demands from all of our customers in CentralEleuthera.We urge the public to disregard the misleading claims and to rely on official statements from WSC andgovernment officials. We remain committed to providing reliable water services and infrastructureimprovements for the residents of Eleuthera.
