Well drilling is about to begin at a site identified in Cabbage Tree, Cayon, on Friday, June 9, 2023, close to the island’s main road and in the vicinity of the gas station. The project, once successful, is expected to bring major relief to the community of Cayon which has experienced water woes for many years.
The project is being administered and executed by Bedrock Exploration Development Technologies (BEAD) St. Kitts Ltd., which has been contracted by the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis through the Water Services Department (WSD) headed by Mr. Cromwell Williams, Manager and Hydrogeologist.
Identified well drilling site at Cabbabe Tree in Cayon
Traffic along the island’s main road in the locality of Cabbage Tree will have to be diverted to facilitate the carrying out of the work, which is estimated to be completed in several weeks.
In an exclusive interview with St. Kitts and Nevis Information Service (SKNIS), Mr. Williams said the WSD was happy for the moment.
“I want to say that this is a moment that we are very happy for at the Water Services Department and by extension the entire government and the entire island because when this well is successful—we expect that we will get a good well here—it will bring tremendous relief for the water shortage that we have been experiencing, particularly in the Cayon area, and so while well drilling is not a one hundred percent surety, we have engaged BEAD, because BEAD has demonstrated that it has access to more modern technology which they have used in identifying this site and so we are pretty confident that we will get a well, and so we look forward to that in the coming weeks when we can breathe a sigh of relief because, hopefully, we would have found a successful well in this area,” said the Manager of the WSD, Mr. Cromwell Williams.
He added: “BEAD has now mobilized their equipment on site. The drilling rig is here and there are one or two other pieces of equipment that they will be bringing in tomorrow. They are ready to start but before they can actually start, because of the closeness of the drilling to the island main road, unfortunately, we have to close the island main road a create a diversion of the traffic for safety reasons.”
According to Mr. Williams, he is hopeful that the project will be successful and that the well will produce as much as 500, 000 gallons per day that will not only service the Cayon area but surrounding communities as far as Keys and Canada in one direction to as far as Molineux and the Phillips area in the other direction.
He encouraged all citizens and residents to conserve water, which is even more crucial now, as we are in the dry season.
“So far for the year, we have received only 60 percent of the rainfall that we would normally receive and that has serious implications for how we use water so we have asked the general public to conserve. Everybody must use less water,” he said.
He said that if water is found, the potability of it would have to be tested and treated if needs be.
“There is water in the ground but it doesn’t benefit us as long as it is in the ground, and so we have to drill wells in order to access that water, and well drilling is not a cheap operation. The whole business of water production is not a cheap operation and so the government needs to start letting the consumers know that water is not a cheap business. It costs money to provide water infrastructure and so I always say paying 20 dollars for water is not sustainable if we want to have a reliable supply,” Mr. Williams said.