The residents of Bagatelle are the recipients of a newly constructed water supply.
The project, which was at a cost of one point eight million dollars, is the result of a collaborative partnership between Government through the Ministry of Sports, Culture and Community Development, DOWASCO and the Basic Needs Trust Fund (BNTF).
Prime Minister of Dominica Hon Roosevelt Skerrit stated that since coming into office, Dominica now has ninety-eight point five percent coverage of pipe borne water.
“We now have in this country, 98.5 percent of pipe borne water supplying Dominica. Every major community in Dominica has access to pipe borne water. When I became Prime Minister of this country, it was about 45 percent. Places like Eggleston and Giraudel, Castle Comfort did not have a serious water supply system. But we are a party and a Government that understands it social responsibility and that we don’t always look at am economic return but we look at what will make a difference in the lives of our people,” Hon. Skerrit stated.
Minister for Sports, Culture and Community Development, Hon. Roselyn Paul explained that since the passage of Tropical Storm Erika in 2015 and the Hurricane Maria in 2017, Government has prioritized the strengthening of the country’s water system.
“Since Tropical Storm Erika the Government determined that improving various water supplies in several communities was a major priority. And when you add up all of these, you see the significant investment that is being made to ensure that our people in Dominica, the various communities around Dominica, has a proper water supply,” Minister Paul stated.
Meanwhile, Parliamentary Representative for the Petite Savanne Constituency Hon. Dr. Kenneth Darroux expressed thanks to his constituents for their patience, going on to call on the constituents to show their appreciation for this major project.
“As the Member of Parliament for this constituency, I really want to thank the residents for their patience. Some of this projects are project that you the residents have been calling out for a long time and we see these projects being manifested right before our very eyes. And we as residents should appreciate it” Dr. Darroux noted.
Project Manager of the Basic Needs Trust Fund (BNTF) Mr. Matthew Carrette noted that BNTF remains committed to improving the lives of citizens through the community development.
“Its emphasis is on people development, so where as we fund projects is various sectors, the participatory approach to community development which is done under the BNTF is a means of empowering communities. And that is to ensure that they take full ownership of that which is implemented. It is a joy for us at BNTF to finally realize this project and it has come as a result of a lot of collaborative effort and hard work,” Mr. Carrette added.
Chief Engineer for DOWASCO, Mr. Magnus Williams detailed some of the changes which were made to the initial designs post Hurricane Maria.
“This however allowed the project design to be revisited to incorporate even more climate resilient features. Several adjustments were made to the pre-hurricane Maria scope of works which included improvements to the intake design in order to make it more robust, resistant to impact loads and ensuring that the river could not circumnavigate it during events of extreme torrential rain,” Williams explained.