Cayman: Consolidated Water provides update following earthquake
Consolidated Water Co. Ltd. (Nasdaq Global Select Market: CWCO), a leading developer and operator of advanced water supply and treatment plants, has reported that, based upon its initial assessment, no major damage occurred to its plants, equipment and distribution system in the Caribbean as a result of Tuesday’s 7.7 magnitude earthquake that impacted Grand Cayman on January 28, 2020, at 2:10 p.m. EST. The reported epicenter of this earthquake was 125 kilometers north/northwest of Lucea, Jamaica.
The Cayman Islands also experienced an aftershock of 6.1 magnitude 57-kilometers southwest of East End, Grand Cayman, and other aftershocks below 5 in magnitude reported by United States Geological Survey. The latest was a 4.3 magnitude aftershock at 12:16 a.m. EST today.
Three of the company’s potable water tanks at its West Bay seawater reverse osmosis desalination plant in Grand Cayman were damaged. However, the tanks held their integrity and the company’s potable water distribution systems have held pressure with no significant leaks detected. All plants are currently up and running and producing water.
The company’s operations in the Bahamas were not impacted by this earthquake.
“We express our sympathy for those adversely affected by these quakes,” said Consolidated Water Executive Vice President of Operations Ramjeet Jerrybandan, who is based in Grand Cayman. “Despite the magnitude of these quakes, we experienced minimal damage. We believe this incident demonstrated the soundness of both the design and construction of our plants and distribution systems and the high level of preparedness of our teams for such events. We expect to be able to quickly repair any damage while maintaining continuity and quality of service.”