The Water Corporation in Anguilla is pursuing plans to resume the operation of the reverse osmosis plant at Crocus Bay to boost the island-wide water supply which recently suffered a production decline.
Initially, the contract for the operation of the plant was awarded to Aqua Design several years ago by Government. The company’s operations were subsequently purchased by Ionics which, in turn, were eventually bought by General Electric (GE).
“In April 2012, GE wrote to us stating that they would terminate the supply of water under the specific section of the agreement, indicating that the plant had been closed,” Chief Executive Officer of the Water Corporation, Rommel Hughes, told The Anguillian. “We are now trying to work with them on the modalities of terminating that contractual relationship. This will enable the Corporation to be free from any obligations under that contract, and to move forward in procuring water from any other entity that we may consider appropriate.”
Asked for further clarification, Mr. Hughes explained: “The equipment is owned by GE. We believe the infrastructure – the building, pipelines, the sea-intake line and so on – belong to us since we have paid for the infrastructure as part of the cost of water for the past thirteen and a half years… Going forward, we intend to have a facility on that site which will utilise the same infrastructure to enable us to deliver water.It is possible that the building might have to be replaced or expanded.”
Meanwhile, Mr. Hughes said that a number of boreholes in The Valley well field were recently commissioned in order to ensure that the brackish water plant at Crocus Hill could operate at its maximum capacity.
“The plant is now operating at around 500,000 imperial gallons a day,” he reported. “We can therefore produce roughly two-thirds of our demand from that plant. There is an additional 250,000 gallons that we will need to ensure that the water supply situation on the island returns to a semblance of normalcy in the supply regime which existed before the closure of the Crocus Bay plant.”
Mr. Hughes said that a number of other boreholes were being held in reserve for later use if required. “We are still rationing water because, as I indicated earlier, we are only procuring water from one plant—that at Crocus Hill…The rationing system is to ensure that all the various sections of the island can receive a supply of water,” he added.
