Water consumers in Dominica’s capital, Roseau, and its environs extending to St. Joseph in the North and Pointe Michel in the south will be the direct beneficiaries of a loan from the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) to the Government of Dominica for a water supply project.  The loan equivalent to USD6.105 million is intended to help provide a more efficient, reliable and sustainable water supply, and will also benefit residents of the country’s medical, residential, commercial and industrial centres.

The project will consist of water supply network upgrading, ancillary works, capacity building, engineering services, land acquisition and project management services.

Under the network upgrading component, there will be an upgrade to the intake on the Check Hall River and creation of a new intake on this river, an upgrade of the network transmission and distribution system, installation of distribution storage tanks, an upgrade of the Antrim Treatment Plant, and implementation of a leakage detection and bulk metering programme.

The ancillary works will consist of a new access road and footpath and construction of a new caretaker’s building, while the capacity-building component will include the implementation of a supervisory control and data acquisition system, relocation and upgrade of laboratory facilities, and technical assistance for conducting a water audit and a cost-of-service and tariff study.

This project is a result of a technical assistance study funded by CDB in December 2009.  The area to be served is the single most critical water system to the sustained development of Dominica, accounting for 48% of all water consumption on the island.  The number of consumers in this area is estimated at 25,500.

The Dominica Water and Sewerage Company (DOWASCO) will be the executing agency for the project.

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Major water supply coming

Work is ongoing to consolidate nine independent water systems into one major network.

What’s known as the New West Coast Water Supply Project is being undertaken at a cost of more than $27 million.

The project is being described as one of the largest water upgrade projects ever to be undertaken in Dominica, and is expected to result in a significantly improved water supply for residents along Dominica’s west coast from Salisbury to Capuchin when completed.

The European Union is pumping $21 million into that project, with the Government of Dominica investing an additional $6 million.

The project has been divided into three Lots.

Lot two which involves the laying of thirty kilometers of supply lines along the road shoulders was the first phase of the project to get underway.

According to the project contractor, Zozime Serge Enterprise out of Martinique, Just over 26 kilometers of pipelines have already been laid, and over 30 per cent of pressure testing on those pipes has been completed.

Pressure testing is a process employed to ensure that there are no leaks in the system before they are put into use.

The contractors say that that aspect of the project is well on track for completion by October 2012.

Lot One involves the construction of two new intakes and two modern treatment facilities along the Picard and Coulibistrie Rivers, as well as the adjoining pipe works required to connect to the supply lines along the coast.

A release from water company DOWASCO says these intakes and treatment facilities are being located much further upstream than the existing facilities, and will require the construction of new or extended access routes.

Lot three of the project involves the construction of nine storage tanks to supply various communities within the project area and is expected to get underway at a later date, according to DOWASCO.

The overall anticipated completion date for the entire project is November 2013.

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