Present at the commissioning ceremony was Choiseul/Saltibus MP, Bradely Felix, who welcomed the water tank.

“Many communities in Choiseul unfortunately do not have a regular water supply. Because of this 100,000-gallon tank and the redistribution efforts by WASCO, many more communities will now have a better water supply,” he said.

The Water and Sewerage Company (WASCO) was on the receiving end of criticism this year after a drought forced them to declare a water emergency and reduce the availability of water across the island.

The move, as described by the Water Company’s CEO, was in a bid to sustain the available water supply at the John Compton Dam.

“This [new] facility comes as a direct response to the urgent need to provide a sustainable solution to improve the water supply system in this community and its environs,” explained WASCO’s CEO, Zilta George-Leslie.

Also present was the country’s Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre, who outlined the impacts of climate change on water supplies.

“When we speak about climate change, we speak about hurricanes and storms. But how already does it affect water? What will it do to the water supply? So I think we need to have a conversation, and a conversation not only on resource allocation, because governments have never had enough money to put into WASCO,” he said.

Pierre urges an attitudinal shift in the way water is used, noting the dangers of water waste.

“So we have to look at ways and means of avoiding waste, water harvesting, trying to see how we can limit our dependence on WASCO. There are challenges with the pipe, with the lines, the water distribution lines. There are serious challenges.”

PM Pierre says Cabinet will soon review the State of Emergency on water as the situation in the country has seemingly improved.