3rd District Representative, Hon. Julian Fraser is of the view that the current Communications and Works Minister Hon. Mark Vanterpool's plans are grandiose.

The new Sabbath Hill reservoir installed by Biwater will be ready for commissioning soon. It will be used along with the existing tank, which will be repaired to increase water supply to areas that were previously serviced.

This is the burning question on the mind of former Communications and Works Minister and 3rd District Representative Hon. Julian Fraser RA in a recent interview with this news agency.

During the budget debate on March 23, 2012, Minister Vanterpool announced in the House of Assembly that he will not be waiting on BiWater to set up a sewerage treatment plant but charged that Government will build its own to address the long standing sewerage woes in the Virgin Islands (VI).

“I am not waiting for that. Because I thought was free but they [Biwater] tell me now they have to make some money first and I don’t know how long they will take and in the meantime, my people are suffering … so I will ensure my Hon. Premier and Cabinet authorize me so I can go and do what has to be done to treat the sewerage in East End Long Look and treat the Sewerage in Road Town and wherever else has to be treated and stop throwing it into the ocean,” Hon. Vanterpool had stated.

However, Hon. Fraser is of the view that such bold plans may be something that will be very difficult to fulfil.

“...he made such grandiose ideas not waiting for BiWater to build a sewerage treatment plant that he is going to build it himself. He wants to develop the ports and a whole lot of things that he wants to do and I don’t see where the money is to do it. It’s nice to think about these things but where the money is I don’t know,” the 3rd District Representative pointed out.

On February 18, 2010, BiWater, a United Kingdom company, had signed a Build, Own, Operate, Transfer (BOOT) contract with the Virgin Islands Party Government for a sea-water desalination plant. The plant is expected to produce 2.3 million imperial gallons of potable water per day, and a subsequent 16 year operation and maintenance period. In addition, the contract includes the design and build of two new sewage treatment plants to provide full sewerage treatment for Road Town and the East End communities to World Health Organisation standards.

The contract also includes the provision and installation of a water distribution leakage reduction programme complete with a tariff billing system, data logging of all storage reservoirs on Tortola to a central control station in Water and Sewerage Department to monitor the water supply 24/7.