Government denies water importation from Dominica

Monday, March 8, 2010 – The government of Saint Lucia has refuted reports that water is being imported from Dominica, as a result of the prolonged drought currently being experienced by the country.

This follows reports in the local and regional media indicating that authorities in the Nature Isle of Dominica had exported the first shipment of water to Saint Lucia sometime last week.

The reports further stated that Dominica was preparing to supply two million gallons of water to Saint Lucia weekly.

However, Government Press Secretary Mr Darnley Lebourne says contrary to the media reports the government of Saint Lucia has not entered into any agreement to import water from Dominica.

“Certainly not. And I must state that I have taken time out to check the report and to do the necessary research and in doing so I spoke to Mr John Joseph who is the General Manager of WASCO and he categorically denied the story, indicating that WASCO is not importing water at this time not from Dominica or any other Caribbean island. He also indicated that WASCO has the situation under control and has put in place measures to manage the situation currently.”

The tourism industry which is one of the biggest private consumers of water is also feeling the brunt of the drought situation.

But President of the Saint Lucia Hotel and Tourism Association, Mr. Anthony Bowen, says although the water situation is grave and can develop into a major crisis, local hotels have not began importing water.

“The Saint Lucia Hotel and Tourism Association has not made any arrangements with anyone including the Dominica Water Authority to import any water in Saint Lucia,” Bowen said.

“What the SLHTA did about two weeks was to write to Dominica to explore the possibility and to find out if they would be in a position to meet our demand is required. We had a meeting two Saturday's ago to discuss all possibilities and the logistics of importing water,” Bowen added.

“In addition, it was made abundantly clear that government is not in favour of importing water and so we have opted to leave that choice out of our deliberations while we continue to use WASCO`s strategy. We hope like everyone else in Saint Lucia, that we will see the rains in time to replenish our reservoirs and the dam.”

Mr. Bowen says the Saint Lucia Hotel and Tourism Association is confident that WASCO will continue to manage the drought situation efficiently.

Meanwhile local authorities are continuing to urge the public to take all necessary precautions to conserve the scarce water supply.

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