CONSTRUCTION OF A TWO MILLION-GALLON CAPACITY DESALINATION PLANT AMONG MEASURES TO HELP ALLEVIATE WATER CHALLENGES

Basseterre, St. Kitts, August 3, 2023 (SKNIS): Minister of Public Infrastructure, Honourable Konris Maynard, said that the construction of a two-million-gallon capacity desalination plant is among measures that will help to alleviate some of the water challenges that the country is presently faced with.
 
During his remarks at the National Town Hall meeting on August 1 to give an account of his ministerial responsibilities and duties on the eve of the one-year anniversary of the Hon. Dr. Terrance Drew-led Administration.
 
“In the next couple of months, we will embark on the construction of a desalination plant in the Basseterre area; we are now finalizing the details and that is going to alleviate the issues that we have in the Basseterre region,” Minister Maynard said.
 
He also addressed the water issues within the Cayon and Frigate Bay communities. He said that the Bedrock Exploration Development Technologies (BEAD) St. Kitts Ltd which has been contracted by the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis through the Water Services Department (WSD) has begun drilling in Cayon.
 
“When I visited a few days ago, they were at 360 feet and I presume they are a bit deeper by now,” he said.
 
“The hope there is that we are going to produce 500,000 gallons worth of water that will definitely assist in alleviating the problem in Cayon,” said Minister Maynard while announcing during the town hall meeting that he received word that the exploration well drilling had discovered water,  
 
The minister additionally mentioned that following the resolution of the water issue in Cayon, the water previously designated for supplying that locality can now be redirected for the purpose of mitigating the water challenges being experienced in St. Peter’s.
 
He added, “When they are finished drilling the well in Cayon and it is successful, we will then move to Shadwell where there is an existing well that needs further addressing and once, we are able to address that, we anticipate that we can get maybe an additional 300,000 gallons of water.”
 
In Frigate Bay, Minister Maynard mentioned that the Government engaged Royal Utilities, the company that provides desalinated water to the St. Kitts Marriott Resort, to provide desalinated water to the country’s systems.
 
“At the beginning of this year, we were receiving 150,000 gallons of water per day from Royal Utilities, and we have now told them to increase that to 400,000 gallons of water per day and that would happen by the end of this month,” Minister Maynard said.