St Lucia denies plan to import water from Dominica

There had been media reports that authorities in Dominica had exported the first shipment of water to Castries sometime last week and that two million gallons of water would be supplied weekly.

CASTRIES, St Lucia, March 10, 2010 – The St Lucia government is denying that it’s making any plan to import water from neighbouring Dominica.

In a statement categorically refuting reports circulating in the local and regional media, the administration said “no government agency, including the Water and Sewage Company (WASCO), has initiated or completed any process geared towards the procurement of water and subsequent importation into St Lucia”.

St Lucia, like several other Caribbean countries, has been affected by prolonged drought conditions. Two weeks ago, it declared a water-related emergency which saw stringent measures implemented for the use of water provided by WASCO until further notice.

There had been media reports that authorities in Dominica had exported the first shipment of water to Castries sometime last week and that two million gallons of water would be supplied weekly.

But the government said that information was “completely unfounded and is only contributing towards the unnecessary heightening of anxiety and alarm”. It insisted that despite the effects of the drought the situation is sufficiently under control.

“The Government of St Lucia assures the public that measures are being put in place to effectively manage existing supplies and to ensure that future demands are met. Cabinet is currently reviewing proposals involving the initiation of exploration for ground water sources,” the statement said.

“Government encourages all St Lucians to cooperate with the measures currently in place under the recently issued Declaration of Water Related Emergency and further to employ necessary water conservation measures in their day to day activities…The current situation is one of national concern that requires understanding and cooperation at all levels.”

“The Water and Sewage Company has made it clear that it would not be prepared to add water from external sources into its supplies for fear of possible contamination,” it added.

President of the St Lucia Hotel and Tourism Association (SLHTA, Anthony Bowen, says although the water situation is grave and can develop into a major crisis, local hotels have not made any arrangements to import water either, although he admitted that some questions were posed to officials in Dominica.

“What the SLHTA did about two weeks was to write to Dominica to explore the possibility and to find out if they would be in a position to meet our demand is required. We had a meeting two Saturdays ago to discuss all possibilities and the logistics of importing water,” he said.

However, Bowen said, “it was made abundantly clear that government is not in favour of importing water and so we have opted to leave that choice out of our deliberations while we continue to use WASCO’s strategy”. 

Several requirements would have to be met to facilitate the importation of water into the country and its use by the population. 

These include the submission of a certificate by the local interest to the Public Health Department of the Ministry of Health from the source, confirming that the water has met required standards; provision of information to the Public Health Department on the mode of transportation to St Lucia, including date and port of arrival; and testing of imported water on arrival to ascertain its suitability for consumption.