St Helena : REDHILL WATER SITUATION REMAINS SERIOUS DESPITE RAIN
Submitted by Saint Helena Herald (Public Relations Information Office) 08.06.2013 (Current Article)
Residents Urged to Continue Water Saving Measures
REDHILL
WATER SITUATION REMAINS SERIOUS DESPITE RAIN
8
DAYS OF STORED WATER
Residents Urged to Continue Water
Saving Measures
Rain showers over the past two
days have not lessened the possibility of a partial domestic water shutdown on
St Helena, as stored water levels remain exceptionally low.
Water consumption from the Redhill
Treatment Plant increased yesterday to 350 cubic metres, up roughly by 100
cubic metres compared to the weekend. This is disappointing given the
seriousness of the water situation, and residents are urged to continue to use
as little water as possible. It is vital that all of us continue our efforts to
conserve this precious resource.
This raised consumption, balanced
against rain showers and water trucked and bowsered to the Redhill plant, means
that we still only have 8 days’ of supply remaining.
The long term weather forecast
from Ascension Island indicates only light, intermittent rainfall over the next
couple of months, which is not sufficient to reverse the current problem. So
the Contingency Planning Group (CPG) will continue to mobilise physical
resources this week in anticipation of a possible shutdown or reduction of
domestic water in: Half Tree Hollow, Cowpath, Ladder Hill, Red Hill, Sapper
Way, New Ground, Clay Gut, Pounceys, Kunjie Field, Scotland, Plantation,
Cleughs Plain, Rosemary Plain, Francis Plain, Crack Plain and Guinea Grass.
Yesterday saw 70 cubic metres of
raw water transported from Jamestown to Redhill by the Transport and Fire
teams, plus 190 cubic metres of water bowsered by Basil Read to the plant –
bolstering our stored water at Redhill. This work will continue over the coming
days, and we will continue to refine our use of additional water resources.
Our thanks go to the Roads,
Transport, Fire, and Basil Read teams - and we ask the public for their
continued co-operation with the truck and bowser traffic.
The contingency plan would see
public water tanks at key locations in the affected areas, plus other public
sources (for example, in Jamestown) to ensure that the public could access the
water they need. A Control Centre, which will be manned during the day, evenings
and weekends, is now in place and ready, should shutdown go ahead. Any reports
of water wastage will be investigated by the Police.
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