BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, CMC – The St. Kitts and Nevis government says it is getting closer to returning the capital with a 24-hour water supply after it noted progress on the two-million-gallon-per-day desalination plant at the C. A. Paul Southwell Industrial Park is “well advanced”.
Public Infrastructure Minister Konris Maynard said the plant was powered up for the first time last Thursday and that testing of the individual treatment stages, such as the reverse osmosis trains, will continue for several weeks.
“We made a commitment that we will undertake to ease and significantly improve the water situation of the Federation, in particular, Saint Kitts, and we are well on the way to do so,” Maynard said.
The authorities say that when operational, the desalination plant will provide a steady and dependable source of water to meet the growing demand from households and industry.
They said efforts to improve the water situation outside the Basseterre area are also continuing, and that the results of the recent hydrological drone survey identified 17 promising sites where potable water is likely stored underground. Drilling of new wells is expected to commence in December 2025.
The survey report has since been presented to the Water Services Department, and Maynard said that of the 17 sites, “we intend to pick the first best 10 of those sites as we go through the report to identify which ones have the best production capabilities.”
Maynard said that the Water Services Department is also assessing the Western and Northern sides of the island to ensure that “we maximize the groundwater resources” on the island.
Maynard said that the Trinidad-based Water and Oil Well Services Limited had won the contract to drill the new potable water sites identified in the hydrological survey.
He said that, following the hydrological survey report, the contractor received the “Notice to Proceed” earlier this month and that work at the first site is expected to commence in December 2025.
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