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No shortage of bottled water says commerce minister

Contact: Claudia Monlouis

Thursday 4 November 2010 –  Minister  for Consumer Affairs Honourable Tessa  Mangal has confirmed that there are  high supplies of  bottled water  available on island and  there is no  need for the public to engage in price gouging  or panic buying.

“I need to assure the public that there will not be a problem with bottled water on island. As you are aware we have a difficulty with water coming from the taps. In terms of bottled water there is water on islands and for what there is not we have pledges and support of containers of water coming into the country. What we are facing right right now is actually people getting into a frenzy, they are getting into a panic to buy and buy water. People are in a panic thinking there will be no water.”

Meantime, manager of the Water and Sewerage Company John Joseph provided a status report to the GIS on Thursday, 4th November and explained the gravity of the damage to the John Compton Dam which has resulted in the unavailability of pipe-borne water.

The Ministry of  Health, for its part,  has issued a  public health warning  for all to desist from consuming  contaminated water and foods. Chief Environmental Officer Mr Wenn Gabriel  says the high risks to health which often arises after a natural disaster of  this scale is of great concern to the Ministry of Health right now.

“We are checking on a number of issues which we consider to be our primary concern  with respect to public health—issues such as our water supply  and where people extract their water from. We are also very concerned with respect to food safety and the issues surrounding that  that. We are also very engaged in our surveillance with respect to vectors. You know dengue fever continues to be a threat to us in this region.”

National Emergency Management  Organization Secretariat  spokesperson Kirby Allain indicated recently that   NEMO,   acting on behalf of the government of Saint Lucia through USAID, is in discussions with the United States military to provide a floating desalination plant. The desalination plant is expected to provide water to the country in the coming days.

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