With the ongoing Water Week coming to an end on Friday, the management of DOWASCO has warned Dominicans to stop wasting water. DOWASCO general manager, Bernard Ettinoffe, said Dominicans take the abundance of water on the island for granted, little knowing it costs money to treat them before it becomes usable for domestic purposes.
Ettinoffe said the abundance of natural water in Dominica does not mean that it should be abused. He warned that people do not cherish or appreciate the importance of water until it is gone. The PRO of DOWASCO, Kimani St. Jean, also warned against the misuse of water across the country. According to her, everyone should do everything in their capacity to conserve water.
We really want to implore our customers to do what they have to do individually to conserve water; yes, we have an abundance of water, but we should not abuse it.
Kimani St. Jean, PRO of DOWASCO
In furtherance of the Water Week with the theme “Accelerating Change through Cooperation and Partnership,” St. Jean said an exhibition will come up at the Botanical Gardens on Friday to round off the weeklong water awareness week. As part of the programme that DOWASCO put up, staff members and students from various schools as well as members of the public took part in site visits, presentations, debates, and water-treatment training among others.
We began the week with school and site visits which means that several of our staff members went to schools across the island to do presentations and several schools came down to our Antrim treatment facility to look at the process of treating water, and they also had the opportunity to visit our earth tank in Morne Daniel.
Kimani St. Jean, PRO of DOWASCO
The Friday exhibition coming up at the Botanical Garden in Rosea was organized in collaboration with the divisions for fishery and forestry, the meteorological services, the management for solid waste, the disaster management office, and the Red Cross among others.
Meanwhile, the Minister for Public Works, Fidel Grant, has revealed that the government will inject more than $30 million to boost various water projects across Dominica. He said the intervention is part of the government’s Water Sector Strategic Development Project; and that another $8.5 will be expended by DOWASCO to improve water treatment and availability in various communities across the Island.
This project will result in a vast improvement in the water service reliability in the respective communities as well as create significant economic activity throughout Dominica. The areas include, Roseau Valley which includes Trafalgar, Shawford, Fond Cani, Copthall, and Wotten Waven, the West Coast to include Coulibistrie, the East Coast which stretches from Morne Jaune to Castle Bruce, the Calibishie water intake and the Jimmit sewer system.
Hon. Fidel Grant, Minister for Public Works
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