The reservoirs on Virgin Gorda were filled with water on Wednesday, June 24, after 30,000 gallons was barged from Tortola to the sister island to provide some relief to residents who have been experiencing shortages.

About 242,000 gallons of water was sent over to the sister island between Friday, June 26 and Saturday, June 27 to ensure that the levels remain stable. The reservoirs are now filled with approximately 272,000 gallons of water.

Assistant Secretary for the Ministry of Communications and Works, Mrs. Margaret Jones-Greene stated that the decision to barge water to Virgin Gorda serves as a temporary fix for the water production problem on Virgin Gorda. She said the main issue the Ministry of Communications and Works has been facing with the plant is its inability to produce enough water to offer a regular supply adding that the low level of water produced is as a result of an aged plant.

Mrs. Jones-Greene said, “The water plant on Virgin Gorda is approximately 20 years old and is now being refurbished. As a result of the plant not functioning well, sufficient water isn’t being produced, once final decisions have been made to address this issue in the most cost effective way, residents of Virgin Gorda will receive regular water service.”

She said the demand for water on Virgin Gorda has increased significantly over the past twenty years and the Ministry is finalising its options to meet the demand on Virgin Gorda.

A water schedule is in place for the sister island to help conserve water in the reservoirs.  Residents in Valley, will receive continued service from 5:00 am to 7:00 pm. while at North Sound, water will be turned on from 5:00 am to 10:00 am and turned on again from 2:00 pm to at 8:00 pm.

Director for the Water and Sewerage Department, Mrs. Perline Scatliffe-Leonard said the Ministry moves forward with resolving these issues permanently, and urged residents to conserve water.

Mrs. Scatliffe-Leonard said “We are appealing to everyone to conserve as much water as you can. For example, if you have to wash the car, instead of using the hose take a bucket and wash the car. Instead of washing down the drive way, sweep it.”

She added, “Residents are also reminded that we are in a dry season and until we get our water shortage situation fully resolved, we all need to do our part and conserve as much as we can. The summer season is upon us and we need to be mindful that more water would be required, especially when visitors and belongers abroad come in.”

The Director further stated, “We are going to do the best that we can to have as much water available to you, and this may mean putting additional water schedules in place to help build up the water levels in our reservoirs, so that we could all have access to this critical resource, especially in peak hour periods”.

Currently, residents from Slaney Hill to West End and East End are experiencing water interruptions. The Department is working on upgrading pipes in affected areas.

The leakage in the pipes which was causing water issues in Jost Van Dyke, has since been resolved.

The Ministry of Communications and Works thanks the public for its patience as it continues to work towards providing reliable water service.