Ten communities across Micoud North could see improvement in their water supply by December, as work on the Patience Water Supply Redevelopment Project nears completion.
At a press conference on Wednesday, the Head of the Project Management Unit at the Water and Sewerage Company (WASCO), Maurice Norville, said the project is now “approximately 85 per cent complete”.
“We are estimating that the project will be completed by the end of this year, so December 2026,” Norville said.
The project, initially slated for completion in March 2025, includes the comprehensive reconstruction of the Patience Water Treatment Plant, which supplies water to St Marie, Patience, Lombard (Lumbard), La Haut, Mon Repos, Wen Development, Mamiku, Praslin, La Pointe and Malgretoute.
The upgrades are intended to increase water production at the Patience plant and improve the water supply to these ten communities after WASCO reported the facility struggled with low water levels during the dry season, while heavy rainfall caused the water to become highly turbid – cloudy or muddy – due to soil or sediment.
Project upgrades include a new intake structure on the Fond River, a new water treatment plant, a new water pumping station, approximately 22.8 km of raw-water transmission pipelines and a 150 000-gallon reservoir at Lombard.
According to Norville, the new intake structure on the Fond River is already complete.
“We are about 90 per cent complete with the new raw water pumping station,” he said, adding that pipeline replacements are approximately 75 per cent complete and the new treatment plant arrived in Saint Lucia in August.
“We currently have our team on the ground right now assembling the plant,” he said.
The update on the US$2 million project, funded by the CARICOM Development Fund, comes as WASCO and the Met Office have reported reduced rainfall and growing concerns about water availability in communities across Saint Lucia.
During Wednesday’s press conference, Met Office Director Vigil Saltibus said this year’s rainy season has been drier than ideal, with rainfall deficits being observed across the island, with the south, including Micoud, recording some of the lowest levels.
Acting Chief of Operations Tera Victor said that WASCO is currently using water trucks and adjusting valves within the distribution network to direct available water to particular communities or areas at scheduled times as short-term measures.
