The company is improving capacity by assessing and activating intakes at Ravine Poisson and Vanard.

WASCO is monitoring water sources around the island to pre-empt its emergency response.

Managing Director for WASCO, Vincent Hippolyte, said samples from water sources from around the island have been collected so that in the event water is needed from rivers, WASCO would be aware of the water quality, and mobilize quickly to use it.

“We first must know the quality of raw water before we treat it, so we have taken samples of the water to examine. We conduct the testing locally either at the Ciceron Water Treatment Plant which has very good facilities, or we do it in the United States,” Hippolyte explained. “We also have some mobile potable water treatment plants which we will deploy should it become necessary, by taking them onto rivers to purify that water.”

After the raw water source is identified and investigated, WASCO will determine whether it is equipped to sufficiently treat it before it is fed into the main water treatment facilities.

Meanwhile, the intakes at Vanard and Ravine Poisson are undergoing modifications to strengthen their capacity.

WASCO has created check dams on the river in Vanard in order to hold more water, and to supplement the John Compton Dam supply. The company intends to do the same at Ravine Poisson.

“We already have a facility that will pick up about 400 thousand gallons of water a day when activated,” Hippolyte said. “De-silting and rehabilitating the silt traps will ensure that we can hold more water to add on to that of the dam and what is coming out of Ravine Poisson.

The Ravine Poisson and Vanard intakes are not active during the wet season. During the dry season, these two intakes are activated to augment the supply of water from the John Compton Dam.