Residents across Antigua and Barbuda can look forward to an extra 500,000 gallons of potable water being added to the everyday supply of 7 million gallons following the commissioning of the new reverse osmosis plant at Fort James Beach.

Observer media did a walk through of the facility on Friday along with Minister of Public Utilities Sir Robin Yearwood and other top officials in the Antigua Public Utilities Authority (APUA) Water Department.

Although the civil work at the plant has not yet been fully completed along with the construction of the two main water storage units, operations at the plant are already up and running with villagers in the surrounding communities of Villa, Yorks, Fort Road, McKinnons, Point and other areas expected to be receiving water daily.

For those who may not have been getting water over the past few days, APUA’s Water Business Unit’s Manager, Ian Lewis explained that the plant had been off — due to a maintenance issue — but it is now back up and pumping water.

Lewis further explained that although the two water storage units are not yet finished, technicians have set up a temporary solution, as a smaller tank is being used until the two units are complete.

When those tanks are completed, they are each expected to hold over 200,000 gallons of purified water.

Antigua and Barbuda’s long-standing inadequate supply of running water has been well documented, and many residents will be hoping the new facility will improve the situation.

In fact, Minister Yearwood expressed his delight over the plant, adding that there is still some more work to be done to address the water issue in the country.

One of those issues is the leaky pipes across the country.

In the past, as many as half a million gallons of water a day are said to be lost as a result.

That issue is already being addressed by APUA who will be repairing the ruptured pipes.

In fact, a Barbados-based firm, INNOTECH, will be working alongside APUA in using state of the art technology that will detect leaks in the network of pipes that carry potable water to homes and villages.

The technology was employed in Barbados where 1,150 points of leak were identified in the water network.

The water authority there tested 60 percent or more than 600 of those leaks so identified and found the technology to be accurate.

Minister Yearwood explained that the plan is to replace some pipes in Villa and Ottos before moving to other areas.

The Fort James plant is one of three that APUA announced would come on stream to help maintain a constant supply of water all year round, especially during severe drought.

In March of this year, the Ffryes Beach plant, supplying 400,000 gallons of water, came on stream.

Another plant in Bethesda which will be supplying a further two million gallons daily, is expected to be commissioned.

That plant, according to Yearwood, will not come on stream until next year, although some of the equipment are on island and some are even being shipped, he said, as he implored residents to be patient in this regard.

Reverse osmosis plants remove the salt from seawater by pushing the water through semi permeable membranes.

Previously, APUA’s Water Business Unit operates six reverse osmosis plants – one on Barbuda and five on mainland Antigua.

The Antigua-based plants are Crabbs, which produces 3.1 million gallons a day; Ivan Rodrigues, 1.6 million; Camp Blizzard, 600,000 gallons; Pigeon Point, 330,000 gallons; and Ffryes presently 600,000 gallons.

The addition of the Fort James plant now takes that number to seven.

Currently, Antigua requires approximately seven million gallons of water each day. Three types of water sources are used in water production in Antigua — the sea, surface water, and ground water.

APUA has set a target to produce more than 10 million gallons of potable water daily by September 2022 – a 30 percent increase on current levels.

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