- XCD 59 million dredging gone topsy-turvy, alongside a degrading 40-year-old distribution network, serving as the backbone of WASCO.
- Task 5: Recommend a New Tariff Scheme 3.1 Demands forecasts for billed consumption and customer projections.
- Saint Lucia’s water security is beyond the sole government statutory institutions management team, board of directors and ministerial responsibility.
- “This decades-old pipeline needs to be replaced, and WASCO is in dire need of financing to chart the way forward in addressing critical infrastructure challenges.” ~ Zilta George-Leslie.
- The flaws in the approach to WASCO have been repeatedly plagued by inconsistent and contradictory execution of policy, including cutting-edge national development standards.
By Caribbean News Global 
CASTRIES, St Lucia – Saint Lucians have spent much of February musing about the Water and Sewerage Company (WASCO) – Then and Now, a public utility under the now shared purview of the ministries of infrastructure, utilities regulations and more extensively, physical development and public utilities: Acts 14 of 2005 and 13 of 2008 with the vision “we are a self-sufficient, environmentally sensitive organization staffed by knowledge-empowered employees committed to excellence and customer care in the provision of water and wastewater services.”
- DAM the DAM – Back to the river, including operational status of collecting rain water, water barrels and water tanks have become support measures. A recycled methodology to climate change adaptation.
Earlier this year, WASCO signalled to its customers about the dry season ahead and urged water conservation practices, stating:
“We are preparing for what would appear to be one of the worst dry spells in the last ten to 15 years … our message for 2026 will definitely be water conservation.”~ CEO of WASCO, Zilta George-Leslie.
Prime Minister Pierre advised that, “Climate change is real, and small island developing states like Saint Lucia will pay a heavy price if we do not act together. Longer dry spells and extreme weather are already placing pressure on our water systems. While challenges at WASCO are being addressed, residents also have a role to play. Harvest rainwater where possible, conserve what we use, and protect our shared resources,” Pierre continued. “Together, through responsibility, resilience, and collective action, Saint Lucians can help safeguard our water security and our future.”
Amid the insufficiency of WASCO’s deficiencies in a land of many rivers and unlimited seawater, the strength of conservation practices, air lock taps that accompany monthly water bills, and the 24-inch raw water pipeline at Millet are transferable water woes that customers and residents should not settle for.
- DAM the DAM – Back to the river days are not as routine as before, but may become a daily necessity beyond day-tours and river parties.
Last week’s episodes with WASCO’s ongoing ageing system and supply methodology, managerial, and operational crisis, led to the closure of business in the city of Castries, government office, schools, restaurants, bars, etc., complaints at certain hotels, all the way to Gros Islet, the tourism belt of Saint Lucia.
At the heart of WASCO’s predicament is an ageing John Compton Dam (JCD) originally commissioned in 1996, with a capacity of approximately 660 million imperial gallons of water suppling approximately 100,000 individuals living in the north of the island.
Complicating these are XCD 59 million dredging gone topsy-turvy, alongside a degrading 40-year-old distribution network, serving as the backbone of WASCO.
According to a government press statement, May 2018, the dredging of the John Compton Dam (JCD) commenced:
“Phase one of the project will see the construction of a sediment disposal area funded exclusively by WASCO from a drenching fee introduced in 2012. The fee was part of consumers’ bills, and has accumulated to approximately EC$25.95 million.
“The second phase of the project will include the installation of pipes and the removal of sediment. That phase will be financed through a loan secured from the Caribbean Development Bank. The overall cost of the project now stands at EC$54 million.”
“Over the last decade, the effects of climate change and the weather have lessened the capacity of the dam by 50 percent, reducing its capacity to approximately 300 million gallons of water due to the build-up of sediment.”
Enhancing Our Infrastructure for Securiy and Prosperity April 2025, reads in part:
“The World Bank’s assessment clearly indicates that the XCD 59 million desilting exercise by the former administration did not serve the intended purpose.”
The Capacity Building / Technical Assistance for the Review of the Triennial Tariff Review Application to be submitted by the Water and Sewerage Company Inc., (WASCO), says:
“The main objective is to recommend a tariff level and structure that ensures the financial sustainability of WASCO while promoting efficiency in consumption and safeguarding affordability for users.”
In the continuance of extended disruptions, taxpayers are supporting millions in annual subsidies, loan guaranties, and high water bills.
- In what sustainable modality can a water company survive operating at 40 percent capacity, losing roughly 51-52 percent of its water before it reaches customers due to leaks in decaying pipes?
WASCO’s infrastructure has surpassed its carrying capacity without the necessary enhancements. The infrastructure layout has outlived its timespan (25-30 years) and is currently unfit for gravity operation muchless modern water distribution.
The CARICOM Development Fund has committed to financing critical infrastructural repairs, which include constructing a new intake, pumping station and treatment plant to be completed by the third quarter of 2026 at USD 2.1 million.
WASCO’s capital projects are said to be continuing with the five-kilometre Millet-Vanard pipeline; upgrades to the Theobalds Treatment Plant; and the pipeline between Bonneterre and Gros Islet town.
Other projects include the USD 4.2 million concessional financing for Mon Repos, Patience, Praslin, La Pointe, Malgretoute, Millet, Vanard, Babonneau, Dennery, Castries, Gros Islet and Cap Estate, water plants.
- WASCO’s current requirements and future consideration for Saint Lucia’s water security are beyond the sole government statutory institutions management team, board of directors and ministerial responsibility.
“Our assessment shows that these new failures are a direct result of the fragile condition of this ageing pipeline, which simply cannot withstand the pressure of initial recharge,” George-Leslie stated. “This decades-old pipeline needs to be replaced, and WASCO is in dire need of financing to chart the way forward in addressing critical infrastructure challenges.”
- The flaws in the approach to WASCO have been repeatedly plagued by inconsistent and contradictory execution of policy, including cutting-edge national development standards.
Without a dispatch to a new administration capable of executing without political interference (political decoupling) with the knowledge and skill of water management strategy, (operating, treatment, distribution, and collection systems), economic and finance modelling, water and wastewater technical proficiency and alignment with future national development goals (hotel, housing, bridges, roads, public and business office), present and extended interruptions will continue to be the norm.
DAM the DAM – Back to the river is now more reliable than WASCO.
To be continued, Part 2
