Housing board OKs $65K for water project
The Northern Marianas Housing Corporation approved yesterday a $65,000 funding request by the CNMI Water Task Force for the replacement of water service lateral connections at Lower MIHA in Garapan.
Task force program manager Don Smith petitioned the Housing board to help with the funding for the replacement of the water lines from the NMHC building down to the Garapan main street over to the Garapan Elementary School.
These service laterals connect the customers’ water meters to the main water line.
Smith explained that the existing service lateral connections were galvanized and corroded.
“This area in particular is one of the worst areas on the island we can’t get water through to the customers because the service laterals are all corroded and leaking so bad,” Smith said.
The task force expects to commence the project within 60 to 90 days and have it complete by February or March.
Led by Lt. Gov. Diego T. Benavente, the CNMI Water Task Force aims to provide pressurized, 24-hour water to every home on Saipan.
The group’s tasks include developing ground water sources and conducting water conservation projects such as meter installation, leak detection and repair of water lines, and survey of existing water service laterals.
In early June, the task force began installing “smart” water meters supplied by the U.K.-based Severn Trent Metering Services Ltd. As of July 29, a total of 939 meters have been installed in different areas on Saipan.
