Government spent $949,024.81 to provide free water to residents between March 19 and June 1, Transportation, Works and Utilities Minister Kye Rymer said on Friday in the House of Assembly.
The free water initiative was one of several economic stimulus measures rolled out by government in the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic.
First announced on March 20, the programme initially was slated to provide free water for a month, but it later was extended to two and a half
Most of the cost — $897,817.31 — went to foot the water bills of the Water and Sewerage Department’s customers.
The services also included free water delivery to those who were affected by shortages. The cost for delivered water as of Friday came out to $40,920, Mr. Rymer said.
Water from the standpipe, which was distributed to customers affected by disruptions, amounted to $10,287.50, he said.
Shortages
During the second half of March, government posted announcements about water interruptions throughout the territory.
The cause, the government stated, was maintenance at water production plants.
Just before the start of the first round-the-clock curfew, Mr. Rymer also said in a March 27 statement that water shortages were the result of producers cleaning their systems.
On May 7, government signed contracts worth $2.5 mil- lion to repair the Carrot Bay and Zion Hill water systems. That includes the installation of two new tanks.
At the signing of the con- tracts in the Recovery and Development Agency, Premier Andrew Fahie thanked Mr. Rymer for pushing for such infrastructural works, “especially to get water to everyone in the territory.”