Breaking

The Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority, with its goal to restore electricity to 90 percent of the territory by Christmas, has been working alongside hundreds of linemen from around the U.S. simultaneously in both the St. Croix and St. Thomas-St. John districts.

On Wednesday, St. Croix electrical restoration crews will be working in sections of: Estates William’s Delight, Whim and Campo Rico and on the roadway from the Sunny Isle Scotiabank to Barren Spot. On St. Thomas, crews will continue work on Blackpoint Hill, Crown Mountain Road, Red Hook, Bovoni, the Donoe Bypass road as well as from Tabor and Harmony to Cassi Hill intersection. At all locations, police officers and military police will assist with traffic control.

Here’s the utility’s latest power and potable water restoration update:

ELECTRIC SYSTEM

On St. Croix Tuesday, crews restored electrical service at several buildings in the Red Brick housing community, at the Estate Ruby senior home, and at Mill Harbor Villas. Additional underground circuits on Feeder 8B were also energized. Crews also planted poles and reconstructed primary circuits in Estates Whim, Carlton and Hannah’s Rest.
On St. John, BBC Electrical Services, an off-island contractor working with WAPA, continued to prepare for the restoration of service in Cruz Bay later this week. Service will be restored initially to the downtown area. Also, reconstruction work continued on Feeder 7E toward the Julius E. Sprauve School.
On St. Thomas, crews began reconstructing primary circuits on Feeders 7A and 8A outward from the Harley power plant. 15 new poles were planted on Feeder 7C in Tabor & Harmony. Primary lines were installed along the Donoe bypass while portions of Tutu Highrise were energized along with sections of Four Winds, the Mc Donald’s restaurant, Lutheran Church of the Reformation and First Bank Plaza. Crews made steady progress in reconstructing a transmission feeder along Rhymer Highway. A portion of that circuit will be energized on Wednesday. Crews also planted new poles along the Nazareth roadway near Ivanna Eudora Kean High School.
WAPA reminds residents that it is necessary to shut off standby generators when line crews are in your neighborhood restoring electrical service. Standby generators have the potential to back feed electricity to the grid which poses a severe safety risk to restoration crews.
Another 250 linemen will arrive on Friday, October 27, bringing the total off-island personnel to more than 500 persons in the Virgin Islands assisting with the restoration of electrical service. The linemen, engineers and other personnel are equally divided between the districts, and more than 300 pieces of equipment are here to support the restoration effort.
WAPA personnel has removed electrical meters at locations where damage was apparent to either an electrical meter base and/or weather head. Home and business owners are advised to make repairs to their damaged weather heads and/or meter bases as soon as possible. Once crews have reached your neighborhood, those customers who have not had their weather head or meter base repaired, will not have service immediately restored.

POTABLE WATER SYSTEM

There are five days of emergency water storage on St. John, eleven days on St. Thomas and four days on St. Croix.
On St. Thomas, the Contant Knolls pump station is now on line and potable water service has resumed in Estate Contant, the surrounding areas and at the Contant Knolls housing community.
WAPA reminds the public that a precautionary boil water notice for potable water customers is in place territory-wide. Due to a drop in water pressure, as a precaution, we advise that all water used for drinking, cooking, making infant formula or juices, making ice, brushing teeth, washing fruits or vegetables and washing dishes, be boiled. Bringing water to a rolling boil and maintaining for one full minute is sufficient. Water must be adequately cooled before it can be used and should be stored in clean, covered containers. As an alternative, bottled water certified for sale by the Department of Health may be used.
WAPA urges clean-up contractors and homeowners in both districts to exercise caution when piling debris on and around potable water meters. There are a growing number of instances where water meters are being damaged by clean-up equipment grading debris and causing damage to the roadside water meters. The continued damage by heavy equipment poses difficulty in maintaining or restoring potable water service to customers.

OTHER INFORMATION

Emergency Call Centers operate 9 a.m. – 5 p.m., seven days a week.
St. Thomas – St. John district, 340-774-1424; St. Croix district, 340-773-0150
WAPA telephone contact: St. Thomas – St. John district, 340-774-3552; St. Croix district, 340-773-2250
Customer Service Offices operate Monday – Friday, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. at Sunny Isle on St. Croix and at Port of Sale Mall on St. Thomas
WAPA website: www.viwapa.vi