BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – ALTHOUGH the damages by Hurricane Earl on the island were minimal, some three days after the storm, some persons are still without water supply.

One Cayon resident, speaking to SKNvibes yesterday, said that as far as he knows when he left his home today (September 2), Wade, Warner and Hamilton Street were without water.

He said that on Sunday, August 29, the water supply was interrupted sometime in the evening and restored the following day Monday (August 30) but was disrupted once again that same day and has not been restored since that time.

SKNVibes spoke with the Assistant Water Engineer at the Water Department, Dr. Halla Sahely who said that there was no major damage reported in reference to water infrastructure but power outages hampered their ability to restore water supply to some areas as they would like.

The Water Engineer said that before the storm, the department had advised residents to take necessary precautions..“Before the storm, residents were advised to store water in jars, bathtubs and other receptacles in the event of an interruption of the water supply.  They are also advised to boil water just after the passage of a hurricane as the quality of the water cannot be guaranteed.

“All pumps are turned off before a storm to protect the equipment from power surges and/or lightning strikes. In addition, all source water intakes are shut off (source water intakes are located at higher elevations in rainforest areas) and these are shut down to prevent any debris and particles from entering the water distribution system,” she said.

Sahely said that the areas that were affected by the disruption in water supply on August 31 were Sandy Point, Cayon, Keys, Mattingley Heights, Camps and Saddlers.

“Water supply was restored to most consumer by Wednesday, Sep 1 with the exception of Saddlers and WSD personnel are working arduously to pinpoint any damage in the water pipeline in this area so that water supply can be restored as soon as possible,” Sahely concluded.