By Admin. Updated 3:28 p.m., Saturday, December 23, 2023, Atlantic Standard Time (GMT-4).
The water supply in several communities on the flanks of the La Soufriere volcano has been affected by heavy mudflows.
In November 2022, scientist – Dr. Richard Robertson had said that the problem of Lahars and floods could be experienced for years as volcanic material continues to be present on the flanks of La Soufriere.
Heavy rains in the mountains are producing flows filled with debris and affecting the filters of one of the catchment areas of the State-owned Central Water and Sewage Authority – CWSA.
The problem has been ongoing for almost a week, and the affected system is the Perseverance Catchment area.
In a post on its Facebook page today (December 23), the CWSA said the affected communities are Dickson, Spring Village, Langley Park, Chapmans, Rabacca, Orange Hill, and Tourama.
The CWSA said the “intake to the Perseverance Water Treatment Facility remains closed because of the continuing high levels of silt in the incoming water”.
The CWSA said: “We will continue to closely monitor the quality of water entering the intake and will reopen the system as soon as the raw water quality is acceptable”.
In response to the issue, the CWSA has been distributing water to the affected communities.
“We will also continue to deliver water to the affected communities with assistance from NEMO until the pipe-borne water service is fully restored and normalized,” the CWSA said.
The CWSA said that residents collecting water should ensure their water containers are sterilized and can be securely covered, large enough to contain a supply of two to five gallons
per person in per household, not previously used to store harmful chemicals, and not brought by children who may not be able to carry full containers.
The La Soufriere volcano erupted explosively in April 2021.
Some water systems are fed by the volcano and are affected by mudflows from time to time.
The CWSA says it continues to monitor the situation and work tirelessly towards a full system restoration.
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