60% water systems damaged in Grenada due to heavy flooding

Grenada: Nearly 60% of the infrastructure of Grenada’s water infrastructure has been damaged due to the recent flooding and heavy rainfall. The calamity events impacted the water systems including Annandale and Peggy’s Whim which will take significant time to get restored.

The repairs of the damage to the system will cost around $880,000 to the government and the people of Grenada. 

Due to the inclement weather conditions and intense rainfall, the communities of Grenada faced the disruption in the supply of the water. As the country recorded a maximum rainfall depth of 174.08m, the soil has been eroded from the low-lying and flood-prone areas. 

The events have damaged the dam intakes, transmission lines and water treatment plants, disrupting the direct supply to the communities. The landslides have also dislodged pipelines and the pump stations at the Grand Anse and True-Blue sewage have been damaged severely. 

The systems at Peggy’s Whim will take prolonged recovery periods while the demand for the water has been increasing at the maximized level. The rainfall has been started on November 8, 2024, in Grenada with immense inclement conditions in Grand Roy and Concord. The rain occurred for a continuous period of 18 hours with an average depth of 127.31 mm in the areas of the country. 

Due to this, around 50% of water production system of NAWASA has been affected by heavy rainfall, causing vulnerabilities to the people in Grenada. The systems have been posing great challenges to the supply of the water in the vulnerable areas of Grenada. 

NAWASA has been conducting the work for the upgrades in the infrastructure at the dams, intake and critical facilities. The work on the stabilization of the pipeline and the transmission lines has been ongoing in the landslide-prone areas. Analysis of the advanced hydrological have been leveraging data to predict and mitigate the future impacts. 

Training has also been started for building capacity to respond swiftly to emergencies.