| It was only fair and fitting that the outgoing chairman and members of the Water Board should have had the privilege and pleasure to preside over the official commissioning of the 500,000-gallon state-of-the-art water treatment plant at Crocus Hill. It has been the biggest project ever undertaken by the Water Corporation and the persons involved have played a major role in its accomplishment. It sprung from an idea conceived some 15 years ago, but gathered momentum over the past three years or so, and finally came into fruition on Monday this week, with the coming into operation of the plant. |
| The former Board can now take a back seat fully satisfied that it has accomplished what may have been originally perceived as a Herculean task. The chairmanship and membership of that Board comprised dedicated and well-qualified and experienced persons whose collective ideas have borne much fruit today. Not to be forgotten, and someone mentioned it at the commissioning ceremony, was the visionary contribution of former Minister of Infrastructure and Public Utilities, Albert Hughes. He saw the eventual need for both the desalination plant at Crocus Bay, and the brackish water treatment plant at Crocus Hill (which is being fed from The Valley well field) and convinced his colleagues that it was the way to go. Imagine what would have been the currentsituation in Anguilla if these two portable water systems were not in operation today. Anguilla has a history of low rainfall and the traditional catchment and storage of water in cisterns, constructed as an essential part of buildings, hasnot been able to sustain the need for an abundance of water in households or business places.Now, with the development of the island, evidenced by a larger population, more dwelling houses and other buildings, including hotels, guest houses, villas, other places of rented accommodation and businesses, the need for water has become more demanding and urgent. The census figures are not yet available, but they should show how many people on the island depend on portable water. What is clear is that despite the present volume of available water it can be consumed very quickly and the projections are that there will be a need to increase capacity and distribution in the coming years. This is evident by the fact that 500,000 gallons of stored water can run out in a single day, and the additional 1.5 million gallons from a second tank, to be approved and commissioned later, can only last for another two or three days. The task to produce more water is one which the new incoming Board will not only have to address later on, but must begin thinking about even now. One of the headaches of the former Board has been to solve the problem of unaccounted-water as a result of leaks and other factors. It is understood that some good progress has made in this area, thus there is more water available in the system. It is a matter that the newly appointed Board has to deal with to ensure that there is no wastage or, unfortunately, pilfering. There is one important factor in the provision of the water systems which must not be ignored. It is the partnership between the Water Corporation and TSG, the company that used its own funds to purchase and set up, and now operates, the state-of-the-art plant. The arrangement is understood to be that the Corporation will be purchasing the water from that company (as is also the case with the desalination plant at Crocus Bay being operated by TSG also). After paying for the water at the Crocus Hill plant for ten years, the plant will be turned over to the ownership of the Water Corporation for one dollar. This will be followed in five year’s time by the handing over of the desalination plant as well. If this is not a big deal, then nothing else about either plant is. This arrangement has introduced a new concept in development in Anguilla where the Government, in certain cases, does not have to borrow money for public sector development to the annoyance and disapproval of the British Government for breaching its borrowing guidelines. This matter was referred to briefly by the former Chairman of the Water Board in his address on Monday. The arrangement with TSG is an excellent one which sets the stage for similar agreements with respect to other projects. The agreement is certainly a good way to stem the need for borrowing, with Anguilla getting what it wants without much headache. |
