APUA advances major water infrastructure modernisation programme

The Antigua Public Utilities Authority continues to roll out its major national water infrastructure modernisation and expansion programme as it reported on its phased rollout to minimize disruption to urban activities, while ensuring safe, reliable and sustainable water supply for residents, businesses and the tourism sector.

General Manager John Bradshaw presented the detailed programme to cabinet on Wednesday, outlining plans to address the aging distribution network in St John’s and expand capacity to meet projected population growth through 2050.

According to Director General of Communications Maurice Merchant, phase one will target the high-density corridor between Independence Avenue and Market Street, extending east to west to the sea and bounded north to south by Newgate Street and Nevis Street. All internal streets and lanes within this area are included in the upgrade schedule.

The new distribution system will be gravity fed from the Grey’s Hill tank with additional redundancies integrated to ensure system reliability.

In a bid to ensure water production and delivery keeps up with to population growth and development in the Five Islands area, including the continued expansion of the UWI Five Islands Campus, APUA is reporting plans to construct a new Cooks Hill Tank, specialized pump stations, and two major transmission pipelines connecting GraysHill, Cooks Hill, and Five Islands.

Engineering designs currently meet American Water Works Association (AWWA) standards and support peak daily flow demands of approximately 1.25 million gallons.

Population projections expect the country to grow by approximately 125,219 by 2050.

Meanwhile, APUA is reporting that technical assessments at the Barnes Hill Coolidge Sump identified minor structural deterioration, including mortar render spalling and water intrusion.

APUA said that immediate stabilization works have been completed, and corrective repairs are currently underway and scheduled for completion by February 20, 2026.

APUA is also implementing an automation system designed to improve monitoring and control of the water distribution network.

Additional projects will focus on in coming weeks include installation of a pump station at Liberty Church of Christ, upgrades at Clark’s Hill, Renfrew, Montula, Oliver’s and Low Pasture, continued improvements within St. John’s city, pipeline installations from the Grace Hill Reservoir to Cooks Hill, a Denfield’s extension project and pipeline installation from the Cooks Hill Roundabout to the Five Islands Roundabout.

Cabinet approved $4 million dollars toward the St. John’s repiping and related projects, advising that upon usage of the four million dollars it will make an assessment and an additional one million dollars will be provided if needed.