He said these customers, who are mostly in Garapan, have five days to rectify the violation by repairing their tanks.
“Overflowing tanks are a major cause of water waste and can result in a large water bill for customers,” he added.
He said when tanks work correctly, “everyone wins, we all save water and customers pay less.”
CUC Executive Director Abe Utu Malae said the overflowing of tanks occurred after the improvement of water service in Garapan.
“There was too much pressure and the customers didn’t recognize it because there had been no continuous water service in the area before,” he said.
Malae said overflowing tanks are also possible in other villages, especially those who pay the flat-rate in water usage.
To minimize water consumption, he added, customers should prevent overflowing tanks.
He encouraged community members to report to CUC if they notice any overflowing tanks in their area.
CUC water operation’s engineer, Travis Spaeth, said they are continuing to “trouble shoot” the western Garapan area and other places on island to provide better water service to all customers.
“CUC encourages the community to locate and fix leaks in their homes and business, install float switches on the tanks to prevent overflow, make sure toilets and sinks don’t drip or flow continuously,” he said.
By doing this, Spaeth said, CUC is able to extend service hours to customers throughout Saipan.
He said “a small leak that totals 1 gallon per minute wastes over 1,400 gallons per day.”
