WASA Chairman Ravindra Nanga has issued a statement, defending workers from criticism stemming from the recent water disruption in North Trinidad.

In the release, Mr Nanga accused two newspapers of criticizing all the faceless WASA workers who did everything within their power to address the crisis.

He also pointed to persons who he said took to social media to deliberately spread misinformation and blatant falsehoods in an attempt to discredit WASA.

Mr Nanga said he would be the first to accept that WASA has significant shortcomings, but said work was being done to address these issues through a transformation exercise.

He also gave a detailed account of the situation as it happened, as he emphasized the complicated nature of the exercise.

WASA is currently in the process of replacing the affected pipeline.

Mr Nanga says the pipe necessary to install the new pipeline was sourced from NGC and has been transported to the site.

He adds that the Authority is currently mapping the new route to ensure that it is acceptable, with excavation and fabrication works to commence shortly.

Due to the extensive nature of the new works, he says completion is expected within two weeks and contingency measures have been put in place, in order to minimize further impact on the supply to customers.

He adds that once the repairs are completed, in the near future, a second line, utilizing HDPE technology will be installed as a redundancy system, in order to ensure that this occurrence is not repeated.

Below is Mr Nanga’s full statement:

I once again take this opportunity to extend sincerest apologies to all our customers, who
were affected by the extended disruption in supply experienced in the days following the
implosion of the 48-inch pipeline at the Caroni North Transmission system, last week.
Water is our most precious commodity and any disruption in supply can be crippling.
I also must thank WASA’s management and staff, who worked tirelessly around the clock
for days to restore water supply as quickly as possible to the thousands affected by the
event.
It is unfortunate that two of our daily newspapers opted to by-pass the facts and criticize
all the faceless WASA workers who, in the face of unforeseen and unprecedented
circumstances, did everything within their power, working through sleepless nights, to
address the crisis and get water back into people’s homes as quickly as possible.
Worse were the individuals who took to social media to deliberately spread
misinformation and, in some cases, blatant falsehoods, all in an attempt to discredit
WASA and the hard-working engineers and technicians, who were busily at work restoring
the water for their very critics.
I would be the first to accept that WASA has significant shortcomings, all of which have
been comprehensively detailed in the reports of two Inter-Ministerial sub committees.
WASA is not now providing all our citizens with a regular consistent supply of water and
we have a problem with leaks. The organization is working on addressing these issues
through– a transformation exercise currently underway; an InterAmerican Development
Bank water improvement project also underway and, WASA’s own Community Water
Improvement Programme (CWIP) that recently entered its fourth phase, benefitting over
150,000 customers in more than 40 communities throughout Trinidad and Tobago.
A lot has been said and written about last week’s incident, and further to what I stated
over the weekend, I felt it important to provide a factual account of what actually
happened.
Last week Tuesday, a rupture was reported on the 48-inch pipe off the Caroni North Surge
system, directly off the Caroni North Transmission Main, affecting the water supply of
most of northern Trinidad, approximately 250,000 people, from Oropune and Trincity in
the East to Cocorite in the West. Given the size of the pipeline, the WASA engineers
initially estimated 48 hours for the completion of the repairs, based on their preliminary
assessment. Accordingly, the Authority issued a statement advising customers of the
event and the anticipated return of supply.
Upon further investigation, WASA discovered that the incident was much more significant
than the normal rupture of a steel pipeline. Instead, this was a 48-inch concrete encased
steel pipe, which had been laid in the mid 1970s, that had in fact imploded.
WASA immediately mobilized all resources to repair the pipeline as quickly as possible,
this included: excavation of the line, cutting and removal of the existing concrete fitting,
and the installation of a new 48” steel fitting with fabricated detachable flange
assemblies.
Because of the unavailability of the original concrete encased pipe, the new fitting had to
be fabricated; sealed with concrete to steel epoxy, coated with a concrete binder and
secured with over 32 cubic meters of structural reinforced concrete. Although there were
risks involved with this method, WASA decided to take that risk, as this was the quickest
and most effective fix given the unusual circumstances.
The operation, however required significantly more time than originally anticipated.
WASA updated the media at an onsite news conference on Thursday morning and advised
customers that they would be without a supply longer than previously advised. Reporters
were shown the installed pipeline, and the WASA team explained the process being
employed.
The repairs were successfully completed in the early hours of Thursday morning, and the
concrete was poured during the course of the day and completed at 8:00pm.
On Friday, flushing operations on the North Transmission main commenced at 8:30am
and the pressures and flows were increased gradually, and closely monitored throughout
the day to reduce the risk of damage to the new pipeline.
The system had to be recharged slowly, increasing the pressure to the point where
customers on the extreme ends of the system would receive by Saturday morning, when
the supply was returned to most low-lying districts in northern Trinidad.
The affected pipeline is dated and is currently being replaced. Work has commenced to
install 280ft of 48-inch steel transmission surge pipeline. However, during exploratory
works, an extensive truss block supporting the concrete encased steel pipe was
discovered in the area of the Surge Tank. This has complicated the replacement process,
and it is now necessary to re-route the new pipeline, as any works in the area of the truss
block, risks rupturing the current pipeline and once again cutting off supply. WASA is
taking all steps to avoid any new damage to the existing pipeline. The pipe necessary to
install the new pipeline was sourced from NGC and has been transported to the site. The
Authority is currently mapping the new route to ensure that it is acceptable and
excavation and fabrication works will commence shortly. Due to the extensive nature of
the new works, completion is expected within two (2) weeks and contingency measures
have been put in place, in order to minimize further impact on the supply to our
customers. Once these repairs are completed, in the near future a second line, utilizing
HDPE technology will be installed as a redundancy system, in order to ensure that this
occurrence is not repeated.

Ravindra Nanga
Chairman – WASA Board of Commissioners
July 12, 2023