April 20, 2001 – The upshot of a two-hour emergency meeting Friday called to address St. John's ongoing water shortage was that Gov. Charles W. Turnbull will discuss with V.I. Housing Authority and other agency officials the possibility of trucking water to the island from St. Thomas.
"St. John's water problems are 10 years in the making and they are twofold," Glen Rothgeb, Water and Power Authority assistant executive director, stated. The immediate problem is "to get some water for the next two days to get out of this quagmire," he said. The long-term one is where to store water on the island – and the options, he added, are limited.
The noon meeting was hastily arranged after St. John water haulers drove their trucks through the narrow streets of downtown Cruz Bay Thursday to protest the unavailability of water for their customers.
Rothgeb, St. John administrator Julien Harley and Martin Ramirez of WAPA's Water Division led the meeting, held at the Battery in Cruz Bay before a roomful of irate residents and business operators.
Mary Hildebrand, president of the St. John Accommodations Council, shared the sentiments of numerous vacation rental managers and a score of water haulers when she stated, "Our water problem is now. We have no water to serve residents, locals and tourists. And it's causing an economic catastrophe."
Hildebrand estimated that 500 rental homes and villas are being affected by the water shortage. The island's 14 water haulers all have lists of 40 or more customers awaiting water deliveries. St. John is under water rationing which makes 60,000 gallons a day available to truckers. Potable water is being pumped six hours a day – three in the morning and three at night.
WAPA can generate 155,000 gallons of water daily at the desalination plant on St. John, with a demand during season for 200,000 gallons. During the off-peak summer months, demand drops to around 80,000 gallons daily.
On March 1, Rothgeb said, WAPA contracted with Seven Seas Water Corp. to provide 90,000 gallons of water daily to supplement WAPA's output.
But at Friday's meeting, Rudolph Thomas Jr. owner/manager of Pimpy's Water Delivery, criticized the contracting of Seven Seas. "The government has had problems with them in the past," he said. "Basically, they could not provide enough water to meet needs."
Following a meeting with water haulers on St. John Thursday, WAPA authorities allowed some of them to fill their tanks at the standpipes that had been closed over the Easter weekend.
But one driver commented Friday, "We were only allowed two loads. That's peanuts. We need relief now."
There was a break in the meeting while government officials put in a telephone call to the governor. When they returned, Harley announced that Turnbull would contact housing agencies to arrange for water to be transported to St. John.
Ramirez emphasized that the delivery arrangement is intended only to meet immediate needs until a short-term solution with Seven Seas is finalized.
