By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Chief Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

THE Water and Sewerage Corporation (WSC) is currently losing more than three million gallons of water per day but is aiming to cut that figure in half by the end of next year, according to Devon Wilmott, WSC’s waste manager.

Speaking at a press conference yesterday, Mr Wilmott said the water losses are primarily due to theft, inaccurate metering, and leaks caused by pressure-related and infrastructural issues.

To address the problem, he said the WSC signed a performance-based contract with MIYA Bahamas in 2012, which significantly improved operational efficiency and reduced water losses across New Providence.

He said at the time, the corporation was losing more than 6.8 million gallons of water per day, but by 2019, that figure had been reduced to under two million. However, due to various factors, daily losses have since risen to 3.16 million gallons per daily.

“We’re working hard to push that even further, with the goal of reaching 1.5 million by the end of 2026,” he said. “Thanks to this initiative, we’ve already saved over 16 billion gallons of water and that translates to an estimated $138m in savings and water purchases.”

He added that officials have also seen a significant boost in billed water revenue, increasing from 5.02 million gallons in 2012 to 8.43 million gallons today.

As part of the initiative, more than 15,000 service laterals have been replaced, while approximately 4,700 outdated connections were disconnected.

The corporation has also established 32 pressure zones across New Providence to better detect leaks and manage water pressure more efficiently.

Officials have also seen an improvement in response time, with over 70 percent of our leaks are repaired within two days.

“Every gallon we recover is a gallon we don’t have to purchase or produce, which helps us control costs and invest in other parts of our system and third, it boosts our operational efficiency. We’re using better data, acting faster and getting ahead of the problem before they become major issues,” he said.

Looking ahead, Mr Wilmott said the corporation will soon assume full control of its non-revenue water (NRW) management from Miya Bahamas.

He noted that later this month, the corporation will launch a consultancy study to assess NRW levels across the Family Islands. By early next year, officials plan to award a contract for NRW-related work outside of New Providence.

In the long term, he said WSC hopes to establish a Centre of Excellence for NRW management in The Bahamas by 2027.