CUC loses 1-M gallons of water a month from Lower Base, Tanapag

More than one million gallons of water were wasted by residential, commercial and government users located in two critical Saipan areas due to leaking pipes and overflowing tanks, according to Pamela Mathis, chief information officer of the Commonwealth Utilities Corporation.

Lower Base, where some government offices were found to be full of leaking pipes, and Tanapag had been so far cited by a CUC leak detection team as key areas where wasting water reached an alarming level.

An abandoned office of the Job Training Partnership Agency (JTPA) in Lower Base alone wasted 4.5 gallons of water per minute for several months until the utility crew sealed off the building and disconnected the CUC supply.

“There was a leak so big it was wasting 4.5 gallons every minute,” Mathis said in an interview. “The whole grass and the area around there were soaked and flooded.”

In Lower Base, the government-owned utility firm estimated that more than 500,000 gallons of water from private businesses and government were being wasted per month.

CUC has given citations to government agencies, such as the Boating Safety Office and the Office of Procurement and Supply, to fix the problems as soon as possible.

These citations warn them of possible disconnection if they continue to ignore requests to do necessary repair. “It’s basically a way of pushing them to fix their leak more quickly than what they are doing now,” said Mathis.

In Tanapag, on the other hand, some houses were found to have dripping faucet and shower as well as overflowing tanks which could amount to more than half-a-million gallons of water down the drain.

“So in just two villages next to each other, it’s more than one million gallons per month being wasted in areas that don’t normally receive 24-hour water,” said the CUC official.

If that water were saved, she explained that it would not only give residents and businesses in those areas a round-the-clock water supply, but it would also benefit the perennially-troubled Garapan.

According to Mathis, pointing areas where there is large amount of CUC water being wasted is part of its efforts to educate the public about the impact of leaking pipes.

She said that the educational program would remain in the first two years and that CUC crews would be more than willing to help repair old pipes and install rain catchment system to save precious water.

“Some people have listened to that but for others it takes citation similar to a police officer who finally has to give someone speeding ticket (before they can comply,” added Mathis.

Due to the discovery of plumbing problems in several government offices, she expressed concern over inability by the Department of Public Works to handle the situation as it is in charge of fixing leaks for other government buildings and housing.

The leak detection team, which is now in San Roque to monitor residential and business establishments, is expected to check other villages on Saipan. “It’s hard work getting from house to house, door to door,” Mathis said.