A PROPOSAL for a rate increase by the Water and Sewerage Authority’s (WASA) has been submitted to the Regulated Industries Commission (RIC), which will review and make decisions on the adjustment.
During a recommissioning ceremony on October 26, Minister of Public Utilities Marvin Gonzales stressed the importance of reducing WASA's dependence on government support, saying the increase is also essential for improving services.
In an interview with Newsday, outgoing acting CEO of WASA Kelvin Romain provided an overview of its ongoing efforts to address water-supply challenges, improve infrastructure and enhance customer engagement.
Romain discussed several planned projects aimed at bolstering water security in response to the growing impact of climate change on Trinidad and Tobago's water resources.
The issue of water metering came to the forefront in May 2021, after an interview with WASA’s then-executive director, Dr Lennox Sealy, published in the Sunday Guardian.
Sealy suggested customers should buy their own water meters to ease the financial burden on the state. In response, Gonzales said while the government was planning to restructure WASA, there were no immediate plans for nationwide metering. He acknowledged metering would play an important role in water management.
Earlier in 2020, then-minister of public utilities Robert Le Hunte resigned because of professional disagreements over policy positions, reportedly sparked by a clash with the cabinet over a $1.5 billion metering proposal.
Romain gave an update on the status of the metering system, saying metering customers is a significant undertaking and the process is being implemented in phases.
He said it depends on available funding, but over 500 domestic meters have been installed for customers in the Blue Range area of Diego Martin.
Additionally, 124 meters have been installed along the authority's five main transmission pipeline networks to better manage water supply.
These networks, which include long-haul pipelines transporting water from production areas to population centres, as well as urban and regional distribution networks, are essential for local water delivery.
Addressing aged pipelines, Romain said WASA is continuously replacing them as it expands its network to reach additional communities. Romain said over the past five years, WASA has completed 112 pipeline replacement and expansion projects across Trinidad and Tobago.
Romain also spoke about the commissioning efforts for 2024, saying three new wells have been commissioned in Las Lomas and Granville and work is under way to complete five additional wells by the end of the year in Mayaro, Freeport, Carapal and Granville. He said four wells have been rehabilitated and recommissioned in Paramin, Morne Diablo, Caparo and Wallerfield.
In October Gonzales also urged customers to conserve water in light of global warming, which has caused increasingly severe and prolonged droughts. With growing concerns about water supply caused by longer, drier seasons, attention has t
