Bulk of CIP funds goes to water projects
To ensure a 24-hour water supply on Saipan by end of next year, the government has decided to put the bulk of the $12.4 million capital improvement project funds for fiscal year 2005 on water development projects.
Lt. Gov. Diego T. Benavente said that once the funding allocation for Rota and Tinian is taken from the total amount, the rest of the money would be spent primarily on water projects.
Based on the plan, Tinian and Rota would get $1.8 million each, leaving a balance of $8.8 million. Of this, $5.7 million will be used for water development projects.
These projects include well field development and isolation, leak detection and elimination, rainfall catchment development, well optimization, metering program, and water storage improvement.
The CNMI earlier proposed $7.9 million for these projects but the federal government only approved $5.7 million.
The CNMI Water Task Force headed by Benavente aims to meet its goal of 24/7 water supply by end of 2005.
Meantime, Benavente warned that water production would decrease further during the well optimization program due to the anticipated decommissioning of 22 wells.
Recent estimates indicate that the Commonwealth Utilities Corp. produces 8.5 million gallons of water a day (MGD). During the optimization program, total water loss is expected to reach $1.3 MGD or a net production of 7.2 MGD.
At present, the task force said that the actual demand on Saipan is at 9.2 MGD: 6.2 MGD for the estimated consumption of 100 gallons per person (for a population of 62,392) and 3 MGD for commercial users and system loss.
The task force said that water conservation efforts through rate structuring, metering, and leak detection will contribute toward the availability of water, “but it only enhances capability and accountability, and does not reduce actual demand of 9.2 MGD.”
The 24-hour pressurization program, meantime, aims to produce an additional 2 MGD through various programs within the next 21 months.
This program constitutes 27.3 percent of the total project costs. Most of these costs will go to transmission lines and power hookups to ensure project completion.
Of the other recommendations, the task force said three are considered most critical: water conservation through leak detection and repair, metering and rate structuring, and elimination of unregistered water users.
The federal government increased the CNMI’s annual CIP funding level from $11 million to $12.4 million.
The Babauta administration said that the funding increase is a recognition of the continued need to improve services in the CNMI and is also recognition by Congress of the “efficiency and professionalism” of the CNMI Water Task Force.
