In his presentation at the 26th Pacific Islands Environmental Conference yesterday, CUC water and wastewater division manager Mariano Iglecias said in Dec. 2006, only 26 percent of Saipan’s population had 24-hour piped water.
He said the figure increased to 54 percent by Dec. 2007.
“By April 2008, 60 percent of Saipan’s population was already enjoying 24-hours piped water,” Iglecias said.
He added that providing 24-hour water supply to 80 percent of Saipan’s population is not easy.
“Seemingly insurmountable challenges were on the way, and everything depended on funding but we were able to push through,” Iglecias said.
He added that CUC and the water task force focused on the areas of improvements like leak detection, metering, enhanced distribution, prevention of source contamination, additional water source repair, additions of storage tanks, and upgrade of treatment equipment.
“The water task force conducted cutting and capping of six-inch line pipes in several villages, took note of undocumented water lines and replaced valves, hydrants and pipes that were in bad conditions,” Iglecias said.
He cited the issue of faulty meters as another challenge which they had to deal with.
He said the “Smart Meters” have been controversial because of their “malfunctioning, unreadable automatic digital readers, software programs and difficulty in inputting new meters data into the billing system.”
To solve this problem, Iglecias said the meter manufacturing company sent 3,000 new improved meters to replace the malfunctioning ones.
The water task force also purchased 10 digital readers and 12,000 pit pads that enable the meters to be read even if the LCD display is not visible.
As a result of focusing on the areas that need improvement, Iglecias said “about 1.2 million gallons of water everyday was recovered in Chalan Kanoa and Susupe, and because of this they already have 24-hour water supply.”
He added that because of the repairs and improvement projects, Garapan MIHA and Capital Hill now have a 24-hour water supply while Koblerville and San Antonio now have increased water pressure.
Iglecias said the water task force has come up with 10 new wells as additional water sources.
