There is limited electricity being distributed on St. Thomas. Portions of five feeders are presently energized. WAPA is also providing electrical service to the Cyril E. King Airport and Schneider Regional Medical Center. Crews worked in the following areas on Friday: Lindbergh Bay, PG Gas / GERS, Estate Thomas and the Oswald Harris Court housing community.
On St. Croix, the Rohlsen airport has been re-energized and we continue to provide service to the Gov Juan F. Luis Hospital. Crews were deployed Friday to begin the clean-up of fallen poles, transmission lines and other damaged electrical equipment.
Assessments will be made over the next few days to determine the extent of damage to WAPA distribution systems. Restoration plans for both districts will then be developed and made public once the damage assessment process is completed. The restoration plans cannot be developed until the conclusion of the assessment phase.
While the damage assessment is being conducted, WAPA has mapped out a tentative schedule of preliminary reconstruction of the distribution system over the next few weeks.
On St. Thomas, work will be focused on the “A” feeders which run from mid-town to the west end. Over the next few weeks, crews will work on the paths of Feeders 6 A to the west end, 7A to Estate Altona, 8A and 9A into Savan, all extending outwards from the Harley plant.
On St. Croix, the focus will be on Feeders 1A which powers the downtown Christiansted area, and on the path of Feeder 8B which runs from the Midland Substation through Estates Whim and Carlton up to the Frederiksted Ballpark on the west end of the island.
By the middle of next week, a shipment of additional inventory including about 1,300 poles will arrive on St. Thomas as the reconstruction work begins to take shape.
WAPA is now working in concert with Viya, the V.I. Waste Management Authority and the Department of Public Works on a clean-up initiative. This strategy is aimed at clearing the roadways of fallen cables, poles and other hardware and allowing both utilities to scrap the damaged equipment while WMA will gain access to public dump sites for regular waste hauling. In many instances, public dumping sites have been blocked by downed power and telecommunications cable and hardware.
Emergency call centers will be activated in both island districts on Monday. More information will be provided over the weekend on these call centers which will be the primary means by which residents can report service interruptions once restoration begins.
Drinking Water
There are three days of emergency water storage on St. John. Drinking water service is available throughout Cruz Bay.
There are two days of emergency water storage on St. Thomas. Drinking water service has been restored to all communities on the island’s east end. Service is also available to Estate Thomas, Bakkeroe and Government Hill. Service will be restored to Savan, Bergs Home, and Contant Knolls over the next few days.
There are two days of emergency water storage on St. Croix. Plant electricians on Friday installed electrical service to the Seven Seas water production plants. Water distribution crews are commissioning newly installed generators at the Contentment Pump Station which will replenish water storage at the Kingshill tank and allow for water service to become available to communities toward the west end of the island.