After years of leaks and repeated repairs to critical water infrastructure, Saint Lucia is moving ahead with major upgrades aimed at improving the reliability and quality of supply across affected communities.
Minister for Physical Development and Utilities Keithson Charles says one of the most significant interventions is the replacement of the raw water pipeline from the John Compton Dam, describing it as a project that could substantially improve WASCO’s operations.
“It’s a very important project. It’s a project that is going to change a lot of things for WASCO,” Charles said, pointing to persistent leakage along the existing pipeline.
The line transports raw water from the John Compton Dam and has required repeated repairs over the years. Charles summed up the extent of the problem bluntly, saying, “We have patched it, and we’ve patched it, and we’ve patched the patches, so it’s a welcome initiative.”
While work advances on that critical infrastructure, WASCO is also seeking to strengthen water treatment capacity in Micoud.
According to Charles, a treatment plant secured by WASCO has already arrived in Saint Lucia and is on site. LUCELEC has installed the required electrical infrastructure, while WASCO is completing plumbing and other installation works.
The Government hopes the facility will begin delivering tangible improvements for Micoud residents before the end of the year, with Charles saying the goal is to provide the community with “a better water supply, better quality of water before Christmas.”
But infrastructure upgrades are only one part of the response.
Charles is also advocating greater use of properly designed rainwater harvesting systems, arguing that the practice should not be viewed simply as placing a drum outside a home to collect runoff.
“Rainwater harvesting can be so much more,” he said, explaining that properly maintained systems can encourage cleaner roofs and gutters, improve household hygiene practices and provide a more useful supplementary water source.
The minister also challenged the assumption that harvested rainwater must be restricted to non-potable uses.
“Rainwater harvesting is not, it doesn’t have to be just non-potable water,” Charles said. “We need to get that out of our minds.”
The initiatives come as Saint Lucia continues to grapple with water shortages, leakage and unreliable supply in several communities. The Government is banking on a combination of infrastructure upgrades, increased treatment capacity and alternative water-management approaches to strengthen the island’s water system.
