Residents of Tarpum Bay and Rock Sound, Eleuthera are now able to get clean, piped, potable water after years of having to go without enough supply, said Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham at the commissioning of a reverse osmosis plant in the area yesterday.
The plant has been in operation since the end of June.
Ingraham said that his government is committed to improving public infrastructure and the quality of public utilities available to Bahamians, regardless of the island on which they reside.
"I recall vividly how stunned I was during a visit to Tarpum Bay when I was out of office. I spent a night at Ethel's Cottages and looked forward to a refreshing shower the following morning," he said.
"I found it difficult to discern a difference between the water in that shower and jumping overboard into the sea as a child in Cooper's Town, Abaco."
The prime minister said that South Eleuthera Member of Parliament Oswald Ingraham did not give, "any traction" to the matter of poor water quality when Ingraham raised it in the House during the Christie administration.
"I have noticed however, that since my return to office in 2007, your member of Parliament has made a point of bringing the poor quality of your water to the government's attention in his speeches particularly at budget time," Ingraham said.
"On more than one occasion I reminded him, that when his party was in office he was silent on the matter. I also assured him that on my watch, he need not worry - Tarpum Bay and Rock Sound would get piped, potable water."
He told the residents gathered at the ceremony, "Tarpum Bay and Rock Sound are developed communities comprised of enterprising Bahamians who, by the sweat of their brows have developed businesses, constructed homes and made a good life for themselves and their families. You deserve good public services."
The reverse osmosis and desalination processing and storage plant is designed as a modular system to accommodate expansion and add additional facilities to increase supply, once the demand increases.
The government signed a memorandum of understanding with AquaDesign, a Bahamian company owned by General Electric (GE), which currently supplies reverse osmosis water in Governor's Harbour, traditionally fed by well fields.
The plant is a build/own operation, therefore GE will be providing it at a unit cost for the water, however, the government paid $600,000 for two large storage tanks.
Ingraham pointed out yesterday that the only islands of The Bahamas with sufficient ground water to meet the needs of their growing communities are Abaco, Andros and Grand Bahama. However, he indicated that this does not apply to their cays and others throughout the country.
"Notably Green Turtle Cay, Guana Cay, Man-O-War Cay, Hope Town, Cherokee Sound and Moore's Island, Abaco, Bimini, Sweetings Cay and Water Cay in Grand Bahama, Black Point in Exuma, Current Island in Eleuthera, Rum Cay, Ragged Island, Acklins and Crooked Island, Cat Island and San Salvador are water deficient," noted Ingraham.
"Since last year, we have been able to pipe ground water to Green Turtle Cay from the mainland," he said. "Before that time residents on that cay were forced to depend on rainwater for their everyday water needs and to purchase drinking water."

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