By Trina A. San Agustin
Variety News Staff

WATER services to two Department of Corrections facilities were expected to be restored last night, according to DOC director Robert Camacho. The Department of Administration made a payment for the agency’s current billing.
Guam Memorial Hospital also faces possible water service disconnection.
According to Guam Waterworks Authority spokesperson Heidi Ballendorf, GMH owes the utility $116,601.06 by the end of the business day Friday.
If DOA does not pay the GMH water bill, the hospital will be facing disconnection. Ballendorf said GWA general manager David Craddick was to contact GMH administrator Peter John Camacho to inform him of the situation.
Ballendorf said the last time DOA made a payment for DOC water bills was in June 2006. The $77,000 payment made yesterday lowered the debt from $300,000 to $223,000.
Camacho said a payment plan was arranged with GWA and DOA during a meeting between the agencies yesterday afternoon. Now, for the next six months, DOA will have to make a payment of about $37,000 on top of DOC’s monthly billing.
The Hagatna Lock Up was without water since Monday afternoon. The DepCor Mangilao facility water services were disconnected around 10 a.m. yesterday.
Camacho said they were in receipt of a letter from GWA on Feb. 18, stating that they owed the utility agency $300,000.
“We are disputing that billing and are asking them to print a list of payments and billings. And when we received that from GWA, we found that there was a balance of $76,000,” he told Variety.
On Monday, DOA tried to make a payment of $77,000 but GWA advised them to pay half of the total amount of $150,000.
Camacho said the news of disconnection was a surprise to him.
“They (GWA) said we have many months of unpaid bills, and that is why I’m surprised. They showed no indication of previous statements in arrears,” he said.