Breaking

Two hundred and fifty additional linemen will be in the territory to help the Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority with restoration work, bringing the total to more than 500 so far, according to WAPA’s latest restoration update. The utility’s goal is to restore power to 90 percent of the territory by Christmas, a projection that has not changed since its announcement.

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 said.

Below, find the semiautonomous entity’s latest power and potable water restoration update:

ELECTRIC SYSTEM

Across the territory Wednesday, restoration work included crews planting poles, stringing new lines in various locations, and restoring service to some residential areas.
On St. Thomas, the reconstruction of primary circuits continued on the east end while some customers on Feeder 9C were restored. Crews re-energized Toyota of St. Thomas, PriceSmart, Pizza Hut at Fort Mylner, Church of God of Prophecy and Edith Williams school on Rhymer Highway, with the prospect of bringing service to Home Depot by week’s end. Poles were planted in Donoe, along the Donoe bypass, and toward Fortuna on the west end of the island. The installation of new primary lines along Feeder 7B, from the top of Raphune Hill eastward, is near completion. Crews will begin planting approximately 13 poles from Havensight to the BCB middle school on Feeder 10B before service restoration can be achieved.
On St. Croix, crews planted additional poles on Feeder 8B in Estate Whim. Approximately 80% of the required poles have been set in that area. Once completed, crews will move toward Estate Carlton. Poles have been set and framed from Hannah’s Rest to the Frederiksted post office.
Additional poles were planted along Queen Mary Highway. Service was restored to Colony Cove on Feeder 6A as were additional buildings of the Red Brick housing community on Feeder 1A. Work is ongoing to bring electrical service to the modular units at the JFL hospital complex.
Crews worked on Feeders 7E and 9E on St. John and installed primary lines in Estate Pastory. Service restoration to portions of Cruz Bay is expected by the end of the week. There was no hurricane-related damage to the St. John electrical substation.
On Thursday, WAPA restoration crews on St. Croix will work in the following areas: Estates William’s Delight, Whim and Carlton, as well as in the downtown Christiansted area. Crews will work on St. Thomas Thursday in the following areas: along the Fortuna road, near the entrance to the power plant, in Anna’s Retreat and along the Red Hook road toward Smith Bay. Motorists are asked to exercise caution when driving through these areas. At all work sites, police officers will assist with traffic control.
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.
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

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.
There are six days of emergency water storage on St. John, ten days on St. Thomas and five days on St. Croix.
Water distribution crews on St. Thomas completed repairs on one of two leaking water mains Wednesday. The leak near Petrus Plaza was repaired late in the afternoon. Repairs were also completed on a water line leak in Hospital Ground but a second break on the same main waterline developed when the system was recharged. Repairs are pending. On St. Croix, crews are troubleshooting some issues at the Mon Bijou storage tank.
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

Feature Image Credit: Irene Ali Photography.