Prior to 2010, he said residents of San Vicente had only a two-hour daily water service from 5:30 a.m. to 8 a.m.
San Roque, Achugao and upper Tanapag residents had five-hour daily water service from 5 a.m. to 10 a.m., he added.
CUC water and wastewater division manager Mariano Iglecias said most of the main valves for the old pipes in San Vicente had leaks and were defective.
To improve water service, Iglecias said CUC “permanently disconnected the asbestos cement pipes from the distribution system and installed new plastic pipes, valves and fire hydrants.”
In the northern villages, Iglecias said not only did the residents have limited water service, but inconsistent water pressure as well.
“The water tank or reservoir supplying water to these areas was manually operated daily by water distribution personnel. This unconventional operation of the tank was often met with mainline breakages that resulted in shorter and unannounced water service disruption,” he said.
However, with the assistance of James Watts from the Hawaii Rural Water, who was on island to conduct leak detection training, the water service to the northern villages has been improved, Iglecias added.
“There are now two types of water pipes in these areas,” Iglecias said, adding that the newly installed pipe is plastic while the older pipe is metal and is still active.
Some of the old pipes were constructed in swampy and heavily vegetated areas that made it difficult to spot or detect leaks, he said.
The CUC repair and sewer collection personnel, along with Watts, used an audio listening device that picks up leak noises from pipes and pressure gauges to find the leaks, Iglecias said.
A major leak was found in a heavily vegetated area near G.T.C. Elementary School, he added.
“This leak was the cause of the loss of pressure and insufficient water supply to the school and the surrounding residential areas,” he said.
CUC customers in San Roque, Achugao, upper Tanapag areas and parts of San Vicente now have 24-hour water service, he added.
According to Iglecias, the water service to the residents in the southern San Vicente areas has also improved from two- to 12-hour water service.
He said CUC is continuously working toward providing 24- hour water service island-wide by 2012.
