West End is one of the areas in Anguilla where there is a water shortage and rationing has become a regular and inconvenient feature in the lives of residents. But in the case of West End, this ought not to be the case.
There is an abundance of running water which can be made available to consumers there the minute that the pipelines are turned on by the suppliers at the request and agreement of the Water Corporation. That is the offer and word coming from Cuisinart Golf Resort and Spa.
The Resort’s General Manager, Stephane Zaharia, is anxious to see water being supplied to West End which lies in close proximity to the property. He expressed that offer on Monday, this week, when he took media representatives on a tour of the Golf Course construction site, and said that it was made to the Water Corporation for some time now without response.
The Golf Course development site was taken over by CuisinArt’s owner and developer, Mr. Leandra Rizzuto, in October 2011 after he won the auction for the Flag/Temenos property and decided to complete and further develop it.
Speaking to the reporters, Mr.Zaharia said: “With the rehabilitation of the golf course, and the water treatment plant, we are currently producing over a million gallons a day. We have offered to supply water to the Water Corporation to assist the West End community, where there is a shortage of water, but to date we haven’t received a response regarding that. To us that is a little disappointing because we know that there is a terrible need for water on the island. We can provide it at cost to the Water Corporation and by doing that we can have a social corporate relationship. We have extended it but, for some reason, we have not received a reply.”
From the over one million gallons of water produced a day at its reverse osmosis plant, for the Golf Course and other usage, CuisinArt Resort and Spa can supply up to 240,000 gallons a day to the Water Corporation. The water is being extracted and treated from five wells on the property. With the offer of the water to the Corporation at cost price, it is thought that there could be considerable savings, plus the revenue the Corporation would receive from sales of the water in the pipelines to the West End community.
Meanwhile, Rommel Hughes, CEO of the Water Authority, acknowledged that an arrangement was being sought for supplies of water from the CuisinArt Golf Resort and Spa reverse osmosis plant. He spoke of a series of negotiations regarding the cost of that water which he said would be more than what the corporation was paying General Electric, operator of the now closed reverse osmosis plant at Crocus Bay. According to him the corporation, which is already in debt with General Electric, offered to pay CuisinArt between US$7.50 and US$8.00 per 100 US gallons, instead of around US$10.00, but the offer was not accepted.
“I still think that the agreement is necessary,” Mr. Hughes added. “Price aside, we need to develop that relationship so that we can access that supply [of water] if and when we need it.”
In the meantime, water distribution companies, operating trucks, are purchasing water from CuisinArt Golf Resort and Spa, at the regular price, to supply persons across the island.
