THE Commonwealth Utilities Corporation informed the federal court that illegal water connections and water theft will be prosecuted.
On March 4, 2024, CUC filed supplemental information with the court as part of its status report regarding the water revenue concerns raised by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
According to CUC, the CNMI attorney general has assigned an officer to work with CUC in the investigation and prosecution of water theft cases.
“Several cases are in various stages of investigation for prosecution with evidence gathered,” CUC said.
“As incidents of non-metered water connections are found, they are turned over for investigation and cut and capped,” it added.
At a status conference on Feb. 26, designated Federal Judge David O. Carter inquired about CUC and the Office of the AG’s actions regarding water thefts.
In her recent status report to the court, Senior Attorney Elizabeth Loeb of the U.S. Department of Justice-Environmental Enforcement Section said: “CUC is not billing customers for a high percentage of its produced drinking water, which is a long-standing problem.”
She added, “CUC has recently told the United States that it estimated that non-revenue water currently is less than 60%, meaning that only about 40% of drinking water produced, pumped, and chlorinated by CUC is being billed to customers and generating revenue.”
Loeb said the “costs associated with the lost water are passed on to paying customers. The reasons for this loss include leaks, water theft, and failed water meters.”
In response, CUC said it has begun a water audit consistent with the protocols developed by the American Water Works Association.
CUC said it has also implemented the Sustainable Water Infrastructure Management Strategy or SWIMS program “to identify, track and eliminate water loss in the water distribution system and…provide an independently validated baseline for current water loss performance.”
The goal of the SWIMS program is to reduce non-revenue water loss from the current estimated 60% to under 20%, CUC stated.
Furthermore, CUC said it will replace non-metered standpipes with prepaid card water filling stations for farmers and customers who don’t have access to distribution water to increase revenue.
Today, Thursday, March 7 at 10 a.m., the CUC board will meet to discuss updates regarding the stipulated order status conferences as well as the unpaid utility bills of the CNMI government, including the Commonwealth Healthcare Corporation.
In November 2008, after EPA cited CUC for violating the Clean Water Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act, the federal court issued Stipulated Orders 1 and 2.
SO1 focuses on CUC’s management structure, drinking water and wastewater issues while SO2 pertains to oil issues.
