CRUZ BAY: An aerial view of St. John’s biggest town from Sept. 10, 2017 — four days after Hurricane Irma.
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CRUZ BAY –– The Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority (WAPA) said there was a renewed focus on St. John on Wednesday where fully 100 percent of the electrical distribution system was destroyed and many voices on the mainland said that the whole island should be evacuated until power is restored.
“Is WAPA slow walking electrical recovery on St. Croix?” Former St. Croix Republican chairman Herb Schoenbohm wrote on Facebook today. “It is a month since Maria hit and still all we seem to get from WAPA are self-praising press releases that say little or nothing. In only a few days after Hurricane Hugo devasted St. Croix there were linemen from all over the country here to plant poles and restring wire. Every day I pass the same war-torn pole run with poles hanging over the highways like giant swords of Damocles ready to drop at any moment. How can any sane person claim that this recovery is adequate?”
Schoenbohm survived Hurricane Hugo on Sept. 17-18, 1989 and was live on the radio during the whole storm as broadcast by Radio One WVWI-AM 1000.
“Somebody should be held accountable,” he said. “They keep misusing the word “energize” this or that. If anyone needs to be energized it is the management at WAPA. Why must St. Thomas always be a first priority. Crucians are suffering big time but from all reports St. Croix will need to wait.”
HURRICANE RESTORATION UPDATE
ELECTRIC SYSTEM
• WAPA will continue the restoration of electrical service to several areas across St. Thomas within the next week. Sections of St. John are expected to receive an initial wave of service restoration by next week.
• On Wednesday, line crews continued reconstructing circuits along the Lindbergh Bay road from AMCO Auto Sales north to Winnie’s Day Care and west toward Gladys Abraham Elementary School. Customers along the main lines will be restored when crews are energizing the primary lines. Additional streetlights are also expected to be energized. Over the next few days the following areas are targeted for service restoration: Blyden Marine Terminal (Tortola Wharf), Veterans Drive toward Cancryn Junior High School and portions of Contant. Sections of the junior high school will be used to support local and federal responders.
• On Friday, divers will be performing assessments of WAPA’s submarine cables to St. John, Hassel Island and Water Island, as preparations are made to restore electrical service to those areas.
• Based on current restoration work schedules, WAPA is projecting to energize its East End Substation on Sunday and will thereafter begin to restore service to portions of Cruz Bay, including the Julius Sprauve School by the middle of next week. Additionally, portions of the Joseph Gomez Elementary School will be restored by early next week, with the Kean High School receiving service restoration by next weekend. The primary circuits on a portion of Feeder 9C from Fort Mylner to Nadir will be energized this weekend, and a portion of Feeder 7C, from Mc Donald’s Restaurant in Tutu to the top of Cassi Hill, is also slated for service restoration over the weekend.
• On St. Croix, reconstruction work continued in the Sunny Isle and Watergut areas. The work in Watergut, near the seaplane terminal, will facilitate the restoration of additional customers on Feeder 1A, in downtown Christiansted.
Crews also worked to reconstruct a circuit from Mill Harbor to Five Corners. Over the next few days, WAPA will be energizing additional streetlights on Centerline Road. Reconstruction and restoration work continued in Hannah’s Rest on Wednesday. Asplundh and WAPA crews will cut back roadside trees along Queen Mary Highway heading to Frederiksted, as the Authority relocates primary circuits closer to the roadsides to avoid dense brush, which contributes to frequent service interruptions.
• WAPA personnel has removed electrical meters at locations where damage was apparent to either an electrical meter base and/or weather head. In these instances, the customer is responsible for all repairs. WAPA will not reinstall meters until repairs are made and certified by a licensed electrician. Home and business owners are advised to make repairs to their damaged weather heads and or meter bases as soon as possible. Once crews have reached your neighborhood, those customers who have not had their weather head or meter base repaired, will not have service immediately restored.
POTABLE WATER SYSTEM
• There are four days of emergency water storage on St. John, nine days on St. Thomas and three days on St. Croix. In general, the potable water system is more than 90% restored in both districts following the two hurricanes.
• On St. Thomas, water service has been interrupted to Contant Knolls housing community, Contant and surrounding areas. Crews are working to restore faulty pumps at the Contant station.
• On St. John, repairs are pending at the Cruz Bay pump station. Until these repairs are completed, the town of Cruz Bay is being provided potable water service from St. Thomas.
• On St. Croix, water pressure continues to increase in Frederiksted and other west-end communities.
• WAPA reminds clean-up contractors and homeowners to exercise caution when piling debris on and around potable water meters. There are a growing number of instances where water meters are being damaged by clean-up equipment grading debris and causing damage to the roadside water meters.
The continued damage by heavy equipment poses difficulty in maintaining or restoring potable water service to customers.
OTHER INFORMATION
• Emergency Call Centers operate 9 a.m. – 5 p.m., seven days a week.
St. Thomas – St. John district, (340) 774-1424; St. Croix district, (340) 773-0150
• WAPA telephone contact: St. Thomas – St. John district, (340) 774-3552; St. Croix district, (340) 773-2250
• Customer Service Offices operate Monday – Friday, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. at Sunny Isle on St. Croix and at Port of Sale Mall on St. Thomas
• WAPA website: www.viwapa.vi
• Facebook: Virgin Islands Water & Power Authority