Low water pressure

Add the lack of water to the lack of power and other miseries plaguing Saipan these days.

A water main break in Sadog Tasi Friday afternoon spilled thousands of gallons of water from the Capital Hill tank, resulting in significant and wide-ranging low pressure for most of the island.

Although the break has already been repaired, it will take some time before water pressure will stabilize, according to Bruce Megarr, deputy director for the Water and Sewer Division at the Commonwealth Utilities Corp.

He said a local contractor was compacting a road along the cement line in the area when the incident happened, affecting an 8-inch transmission main.

“The incident happened around 4pm [Friday]. They [contractor] responded in a timely manner, and immediately reported the incident to CUC,” said Megarr.

The water main was isolated within 45 minutes and was fixed within three hours, Megarr added.

The break, however, resulted in the loss of about two-thirds of the water in the Sadog Tasi tank, or more than 600,000 gallons of water.

“When you are pushing 30 to 40 pounds per square inch of pressurized water through a broken 8-inch main, you’re moving a lot of water,” Megarr said.

When asked how soon the water pressure will stabilize, he said this would depend on several factors.

“It is dependent on numerous factors, power being one of them. We also have a compromised drive in the main well in the area. Also, the tank has to be filled up. Only then can we can start releasing the water to the public,” he said.

Megarr said the incident may have also compromised the cleanliness of the water.

“We will be doing aggressive biological monitoring of the lines to make sure that contamination does not occur but, given the reduction in pressure, people should not consume the water without boiling it first,” he added.

This incident is on top of other problems the water production is experiencing, mainly due to the ongoing work at the power plant.

“[Due] to the unavoidable power reduction, other major water wells have been affected, primarily Isley Field in the airport where we have 45 percent of our water wells, producing about 50 percent of the water on island,” he said.

“We’ve been forced to curtail water production in those areas, producing less water for the southern portion of the island. As such, the same caution applies regarding potability,” Megarr added. This means people must boil the water first before using them for food or drinking.

Not everything is bleak, though. CUC’s water division recently brought online five additional generators, powering 15 major wells and boosters, ensuring that places like Kagman and Donni Springs have increased supply compared to other areas, Megarr said.