BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - AFTER almost one week of sporadic interruption in water supply, the Water Department has ironed out all its kinks and the supply has been restored to all affected areas in St. Kitts.
This restoration came five days (Oct. 18) after residents in some communities across St. Kitts complained of not having water supply or weakened water pressure for hours and some, even days, mainly due to the passage of Tropical Storm Rafael.
Some schools including the Seventh Day Adventist Primary, Epworth/Maurice Hillier Memorial Junior School, Dr. William Connor Primary and the Victoria Road Pre-School had to be closed on Tuesday (Oct. 16) because of the lack of water.
The Water Department's Manager/Water Engineer, Cromwell Williams, has explained that water supply has been fully restored to all areas that were affected during and following the passage of the storm.
He said that the supply had been restored sometime during the afternoon of Thursday (Oct. 18).
The Manager stated that the reservoirs are still low but they are recovering.
When asked about residents' complaints of murky water, Williams said that happens sometimes when water has been turned off for a period of time and, to an extent, is beyond the company's control.
"The murky water is not surprising to me...we have had this complaint before. When the water has been off for a while, when it comes back it can be a bit murky sometimes, but that is just the reality of dealing with nature. It is beyond our control to an extent.
"This is because of how we obtain the water. We get the water from the sources in the hill, so sometimes when it comes it is murky and we try our best to flush it before it gets to consumers."
Williams noted that in recent times, persons have become complacent and stopped storing water because the Water Department had been speedy in the recovery of interrupted water supply or, on many occasions, the supply had not been interrupted.
He however stated that regardless of the reliability of the water supply, persons should still keep water stored, as anything could happen where natural disasters are concerned, noting that TS Rafael was intense in terms of the rainfall which affected the Department most.
Williams reminded that the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) always advise persons to store enough water when a storm is approaching to get them through at least the first 24 hours after the storm had passed.
"We may or may not have an interruption in supply, but one must keep water stored and use water sparingly just to be cautious," he said.
