Presently conducting much-needed repairs on pipelines in the north of the country, WASCO has fallen out of favour with many citizens, who report not having access to water for days.

Minister King says serious changes to the operations of WASCO are needed as most of the water from the John Compton Dam goes to waste. This wastage, King says, is immensely hampering WASCO’s ability to provide adequate water to Saint Lucia.

“It is the non-revenue water that we are losing. A lot of water is being lost by WASCO and there's no revenue. So when you look at WASCO’s income from water based on production, consumption, and billing, it is 55% of non-revenue water that's going to waste. So for every 100 gallons of water produced, 55 gallons, though it appears to be consumed, is not paid for. The government now has decided to repair the raw water pipeline from Roseau Dam, Millet to Ciceron,” the Minister explained.

This wastage, he adds, is due to faulty pipelines which need to be repaired. It is these repairs that WASCO is doing which is causing many citizens to be without water.

“We've been having a lot of breaks in that line. The line is aging and it is rupturing ever so often. And that's the reason why in the last few weeks, there about last few months, we've had so many shutdowns by WASCO because the lines are rupturing,” he said.

King said the government is in the process of acquiring funds from lending agencies to repair the entire pipeline from the Dam in Roseau to its end in Ciceron.

“The government is seeking a loan from the CDB. The consultancy is just about completing in terms of what is the best approach and it is expected and estimated that some $15 million EC dollars will be required by the government of Saint Lucia to improve on that water line.”

WASCO has announced another shutdown of the water supply at the end of February.