CUC’s deputy director for water and wastewater, Bruce Meagar, said they maintain 140 wells excluding the three springs that also provide water to the system.
But CUC also has to address problems in flowing production, he added, as well as the quality and the quantity of water.
CUC’s storage capacity and flexibility to shift that storage to different locations have improved, Meagar said.
In the past eight months, he added, the number of their customers who have 24-hour water service increased by 30 percent.
He said 75 percent of their customers now get water 24 hours each day.
New storage facilities were also opened in the past six months, he added.
It is “difficult” for CUC to find new water sources but, he said, the utilities agency has already adopted a long-term plan to address the island’s water supply problem.
“We have a very complex water system here,” Meagar said. “The ground water situation is very difficult because it is complicated by tides, a fractured limestone system and a sub-limestone lava base that makes finding packets of water that is both dependable and potable very difficult.”
CUC’s water division will create a supply buffer to address the changing needs of the population in the future, he added.
“It’s an ongoing plan — the additional storage and the availability to shift water from one part of the island in order to meet changing demand,” Meagar said.
