NIA CHARLESTOWN NEVIS (October 29, 2020) – Work which has commenced on the installation and commissioning of a water filtration system at Hamilton is nearing completion.
Hon. Mark Brantley, Premier of Nevis, made the announcement while giving an update on the project at his monthly press conference which was held in the Nevis Island Administration’s Cabinet Room at Pinney’s Estate on October 29, 2020.
“Two experts from Lakeshore Engineering out of Georgia in the USA are on the island working on the Hamilton site and they have been doing so for a little over two weeks.
“Another expert from a company called AdEdge Technologies also out of Georgia is currently in his last week of quarantine at the Oualie Beach Resort. He will conduct the final commissioning of the plant and train the Nevis Water Department staff once he is cleared to come out and do what he came to do,” he said.
Mr. Brantley thanked the experts and also the others who were instrumental in the preparatory work done in readiness for the experts.
“We want to thank, of course, these two experts who have come and travelled to see us and to perform this important work even under the circumstances of COVID.
“We also express thanks and commend the Nevis Integrated Water Resource Management Unit, the Nevis Water Department management and staff especially the production team and also the utility companies of [Nevis Electricity Company Limited] NEVLEC and FLOW and the Ministry of Water Services for the tremendous preparatory work at Hamilton Reservoir Site and the Hamilton well, to realise the support to bringing more water into our system very shortly,” he said.
The Premier pointed out that the project was geared toward harnessing the water and making it usable and available for the people of Nevis.
“I just want to underscore…that we are going to treat that water through a sophisticated water system to bring it to international standards and then that water will come into our water supply system and that will add a tremendous amount of water to our availability on the island,” he said.
Mr. Brantley explained that the island had faced water woes and it was actively seeking to address the issue moving forward.
The island’s water comes from underground wells and many are old and are not yielding as much water as they used to. As such the Cabinet in the NIA took the decision to spend $10million and contracted BEAD to drill more wells.
The well in Hamilton with high producing water yields was drilled some years ago but the quality of the water did not meet the requirement of the World Health Organization and was deemed unfit for human consumption, as such it was not used.
Mr. Brantley stated that the administration under his leadership decided to pursue treating the water from that well.
“We took a different view that if the water could be treated and made portable then we could press that well into use, and I want to thank Minister Spencer Brand who has championed that particular project,” he said.
Mr. Brand is the Minister of Water Services on Nevis.