Breaking

The Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority said on Friday that traffic flow territory-wide will be affected on Saturday as restoration work continues. The utility has well over 500 off-island linemen working on the effort.

Below, find the latest update.

ELECTRIC SYSTEM

On St. Croix Friday, crews working on Feeder 1A in downtown Christiansted energized from Hospital Street to the VIPD marine base, Hotel on the Cay and Bryan’s Marina. On Feeder 2A, reconstruction of primary circuits continued along Gallows Bay road toward Pearl B. Larsen school, and from Canegata Ballpark toward Recovery Hill. Crews commenced work on Feeder 3A, while on Feeder 4A, residences in Golden Rock and the federal courthouse were energized. On Feeder 5A, crews energized residences and businesses in Estates Ruby, Sunny Acres, Joseph E. James Home for the Elderly and the Department of Finance. Primary circuits were also energized as were customers in Estate Mary’s Fancy.
On St. John, crews worked from the Department of Public Works toward Bellevue. Customers in the Peter Bay area, as well as the Gallows Point Resort, were restored. Work continued in the Grunwald area on Feeder 9E.
On St. Thomas, crews continued work on circuits from Wintberg and Mandahl to the Yvonne Bowsky Elementary School on Feeder 9C. Customers on portions of Feeder 7C, in Anna’s Retreat in the area of Camorino Circle were energized. On Feeder 7D, the Ivanna Eudora Kean High School as well as the offices of the Bureau of Internal Revenue have been readied for connection to the electrical grid. On Feeder 9D, from Fredenhoj to Nadir, crews will make technical adjustments to three-phase power lines which will involve a service interruption on Sunday. Crews began work on Friday to energize gas stations and streetlights in Bovoni and Nadir.
Traffic flow will be affected on Saturday as restoration work continues. On St. Croix, crews will work along Centerline Road and in downtown Christiansted, on the Northshore Road, Five Corners and Rattan. Other work areas will have minimal effect on traffic. On St. Thomas, traffic will be slowed along Frenchman’s Bay road toward Bolongo, on St. Peter Mountain Road and on the Smith Bay Road. On Saturday, a debris removal and cleanup on Raphune Hill toward Weymouth Rhymer Highway will affect traffic flow as will a road closure in Estate Wintberg from the Donoe /Annas Retreat intersection to Mandahl. On St. John, continued work on Feeder 9E will affect traffic flow around Estate Grunwald. Motorists are advised to adhere to the directions of flaggers, military police and VIPD officers who are assisting with traffic control. Additionally, motorists are encouraged to use alternate routes and avoid the work areas when possible.
WAPA advises residents that it is necessary to shut off standby generators when line crews are in your neighborhood restoring electrical service. A standby generator has the potential to back feed electricity to the grid which poses a severe safety risk to restoration crews.
All electrical problems must be reported to the WAPA Emergency Call Centers to be properly documented and tracked. These problems include, but are not limited to, electrical service interruptions as well as damaged and downed facilities such as poles, transformers, and power lines. The Emergency Call Centers operate 9 a.m. – 5 p.m., seven days per week. St. Thomas – St. John: 340-774-1424 and St. Croix: 340-773-0150.
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. Additionally, customers and electricians are reminded that it is against the law to remove or otherwise destroy meter seals. If work needs to be done to repair a damaged meter base and or weather head, contact WAPA’s Emergency Call Centers which operate seven days a week, 9 am – 5 pm.

POTABLE WATER SYSTEM

There are six days of emergency water storage on St. John, ten days on St. Thomas and six days on St. Croix.
WAPA reminds the public that a precautionary boil water notice, for potable water customers, is in place for the District of St. Croix. 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. The boil water notice for the St. Thomas-St. John district has been lifted.
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 are operating Monday – Friday, 9 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