24/7 water supplies increased over 300% since 2010: Ganga Singh

File: Workers on a WASA water project

The Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) is now providing a 24/7 water supply to 57 per cent of the population of Trinidad and 69 per cent of the consumers in Tobago. 

Environment and Water Resources Minister Ganga Singh provided these statistics on Wednesday at the opening of a bridge in North Valsayn. 

 
Singh said that is a significant increase over what the government inherited in 2010. He noted that in 2010 only 15 per cent of the population in Trinidad had a round the clock water supply and the figure in Tobago was 35 per cent. 

He said an additional supply of 24 million gallons per day has been identified through:

• An increase in production at DESALCOTT of 10 million gallons per day
• Increased aquifer well production (underground water) of 1.1 million gallons per day 
• Increase in production of 1.5 million gallons per day at the Point Fortin Desalination Plant in order to provide water for the NABIDCO Estate for the Mitsubishi Industrial Methanol Plant
• An additional 11 million gallons per day from waste water re-use at the Beetham Waste Water Treatment Plant.

The minister also spoke of the other ongoing work to improve the water supply. "As of December 2013, the Ministry of the Environment and Water resources through its agency, WASA, completed 753 projects laying 564 kilometers of pipeline infrastructure at a cost of TT$691 Million," he said.

"In the First Quarter of 2014, a total of 82 kilometers of mains are being installed in four areas at an estimated cost of TT$139 million," he added.

The minister said under the National Social Development Programme (NSDP) of works, more than 200 small pipeline projects requested by the various regional corporations are in different stages of implementation. "This would entail the installation of 91 kilometers of four inch and six inch mains at a cost of TT$118 million," he said.