The Tribune

By JADE RUSSELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

jrussell@tribunemedia.net

RESIDENTS of Cat Island may soon have access to potable water, as the government signed a $7m Heads of Agreement with Consolidated Water (Bahamas) Limited to construct two desalination facilities yesterday.

State Minister in the Office of Prime Minister Leon Lundy, who is responsible for the Water & Sewerage Corporation, said the agreement includes designing, constructing and operating two desalination plants — one in Bennet’s Harbour, north Cat Island, and one in New Bight, south Cat Island. Mr Lundy emphasised the need for safe drinking water.

Each facility will produce 90,000 imperial gallons of desalinated water daily and include a 250,000-gallon storage tank, supply wells, disposal wells, and backup generators.

“These facilities will not only provide day-to-day service but will also be resilient in times of our challenge of crisis, ensuring that the community’s water needs are met no matter the circumstances,” Mr Lundy said during the signing at the Office of the Prime Minister yesterday.

Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis, the MP for Cat Island, said the agreement builds on the infrastructural upgrades he oversaw as minister of works and utilities in 2016. He said $3m in Caribbean Development Bank funding was used at that time to install 11 new water mains and 300 service connections.

“Now, after four years of stagnancy during the previous administration, this government is continuing the water upgrades to the ongoing Cat Island Road paving and public infrastructure Public Private Partnership Project,” he said. “Already, we have allocated over $32m to install 95 miles of new water mains and 800 service connections in Cat Island.”

The New Bight facility is expected to begin water production by April 2025, and the Bennet’s Harbour site, pending environmental review, will start by September 2025.

In response to criticism about Cat Island’s development, Mr Davis, who has represented the island for over two decades, noted he spent more time in opposition than governing. He said many projects he initiated for Cat Island were halted, such as a 2016 water programme to improve Family Island water supplies, which the Free National Movement discontinued.

The contract with Consolidated Water was awarded through a public tender, with three contractors submitting bids. The contract is based on a unit price arrangement, meaning WSC will pay the contractor based on the actual water volumes supplied.

The project is expected to provide potable and reliable water to over 1,100 homes.