WAPA Says It’s Making Progress In Solving Potable Water Interruption Affecting West End Of St. Croix

ST. CROIX — WAPA Executive Director and CEO Lawrence J. Kupfer said Wednesday afternoon that ongoing efforts to address a potable water service interruption affecting the west end of St. Croix are beginning to yield encouraging results.

At mid-afternoon Wednesday, the water level at Kingshill stood at three feet. “As the Kingshill storage tank slowly gains capacity, and as we take steps to ramp up the operation of our pump stations across the island we are getting reports of water service reaching residents from mid-island to Frederiksted town. While 6-7 feet is needed for normal water service to be experienced,” Kupfer said, “the Authority is taking steps to ensure the distribution system was functioning normally. Service has been restored to areas such as Frederiksted town, the Herbert Grigg Home for the Aged, Mars Hill, and at other locales.”

WAPA crews have been out for the last three days inspecting valves and other hardware, scanning the system for any leaks, all to make certain that the system is operating to normal expectation and confirming that the only challenge we face is achieving the levels of water required to normalize service. Kupfer also explained that all pump stations at Richmond, Contentment, and Concordia are operating normally. “We switched out a monitoring device on one pump to ensure that all pumps at Contentment were working to full capacity. Also, crews made repairs to a leaking 4” line in Frederiksted.

In order to allow more water capacity to be achieved at the storage tank, effective Thursday, March 14, WAPA will limit the operating hours of the potable water standpipe in Estate Richmond.  “The standpipe will only operate between the hours of 4 pm – 9 pm daily until we have resumed water service to the affected customers. Additionally, the Authority is appealing to any customer, residential or commercial, who has the ability to switch from the potable water system to a cistern supply of water to do so,” he said.

WAPA apologized for the inconvenience caused by the water service interruption, and assures all affected customers that efforts are continuing until normal water service has been achieved. 

To report ongoing water service interruptions, please call 340-773-2250, Option 4.