The Tribune

By LEANDRA ROLLE

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

THE Water and Sewerage Corporation announced yesterday that it has commenced operations to restore interim water supply to “critical governmental facilities” in Marsh Harbour, Abaco.

In a press statement released yesterday, WSC suggested that this will allow for the ongoing clean-up and restoration efforts on the storm-ravaged island to run more efficiently.

Hurricane Dorian, a monster Category Five storm, devastated Abaco and Grand Bahama early last month and obliterated scores of homes and businesses.

WSC noted that the corporation’s infrastructure, including its water and sanitation systems, on Abaco suffered major damage as a result of Hurricane Dorian.

“While our teams have been able to patch together an interim water system for Marsh Harbour, this is only an interim or temporary arrangement as we commence major reconstruction works throughout the Abacos estimated to be in the $15m to $20m range,” WSC added.

The statement continued: “Given the devastation in our Marsh Harbour well fields and the surrounding area, our laboratory personnel have taken two rounds of samples and these samples have been thoroughly tested at our local laboratory and at (an) international laboratory to confirm that our water supply meets all local and international standards for chemistry, microbiology, trace metals and hydrocarbons.”

This testing, as noted by WSC, was completed with the assistance of the Pan American Health Organisation.

But, given the fragility of power generation, water production, storage, pumping and distribution systems, WSC warns that there will be periods of low pressure and/or no water in the Marsh Harbour area.