North Sound promised improved water supply | Construction of reservoir underway
Residents of North Sound on Virgin Gorda are being promised a more reliable water supply by late June.
Minister of Works & Utilities Kye Rymer said work to erect a new glass-fused-to-steel water reservoir at Perot Hill, North Sound, has started.
He gave that update while reporting on water supply on the sister island at Friday’s sitting of the House of Assembly.
“With this new tank, customers in North Sound, especially The Bond, will see an improvement in water to their homes or businesses; once the water plant is producing water,” he said.
He further explained: “Efforts are ongoing to ensure that all of the reservoirs are in good shape and that alternate systems are placed underground to provide service should any damages be experienced to our storage tanks.”
“Generators are also being repaired and or serviced,” he added.
Restoration efforts
The reservoir repair and restoration project is a joint partnership between the BVI and the United Kingdom, which started last year under the former National Democratic Party government.
The project was aimed at repairing and replacing several reservoirs that were affected during the 2017 weather events.
According to Permanent Secretary Jeremy Hodge, at least five reservoirs located on Sabbath Hill, Fort Hill, Hannah’s Hill, Balsam Ghut and the Valley on Virgin Gorda, respectively, received varying levels of damage and are lined up to be repaired.
Meanwhile, a few reservoirs that were destroyed in the hurricanes will be replaced with new ones will include one at Maya Cove on Tortola, one at North Sound in Virgin Gorda, and the sole reservoir that was on Jost Van Dkye.
As part of the partnership, the BVI would pay roughly $150,000, which will go towards a part of the labour cost, while the UK would cover the remaining cost, which he was unable to divulge.
He said some of the reservoirs can cost up to a million dollars each.
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While we are at it, can you please provide an update on when residents at Sabbath Hill will be provided with a little water from the reservoir that is over their heads? Will any government ever hear our cries and relieve us from paying for water trucks monthly when we have two reservoirs in the yard? Government after government and no relief? Pleaseeeeee hear our cries to get some water from the two reservoirs that distribute water to most sections of the island.
Funny have people bitch at the UK and come up with all sorts of racist nonsense but a quite little story like this slips by when the UK paying the loins share of a bill for repair that is not their legal responsibility and BVI can’t afford. I would like to be assured this uk money is not being misappropriated just like it has with the electrical infrastructure after Irma and for years before that that the UK just quietly pays for and nobody says thank you they just steel it
@E. Scott: As a BVIslander I agree that the U.K. is not as bad as we are often told. I pray that Conservative Government will remain in power in the U.K. for years to come. The Labour Party will be a problem for OTs if they become the next U.K. Government. I guarantee you if the Labour Party was in power there would have already been an Order in Council to force a Beneficial Ownership Register on the BVi as well as gay marriage.