The Long Look Sewage Pump Station was officially commissioned on February 17, 2026. Photo: Facebook

From left: Education Minister Hon Sharie B. de Castro (AL); Hon Stacy R. Mather (AL); Premier Dr the Hon Natalio D. Wheatley (R7); Minister for Communications and Works Hon Kye M. Rymer; Deputy Premier Hon Julian Fraser RA (R3); Opposition Member Hon Marlon A. Penn (R8) and Jr Minister for Culture and Tourism Hon Luce D. Hodge-Smith (R4) at the commissioning of the Long Look Sewage Pump Station on February 17, 2026. Photo: Team of Reporters

Minister for Communications and Works, Hon Kye M. Rymer (R5), announced that the commissioning of the Long Look Sewage Pump Station will address long-standing challenges faced by the community. Photo: Facebook

The pump station was officially inaugurated on Tuesday, February 17, 2026, during a brief ceremony and will serve the eastern corridor. Photo: VINO/File

The pump station was officially commissioned today, February 17, 2026, during a brief ceremony.

“Today, we are taking decisive action to eliminate the long-standing challenges in this community,” he stated.

Improving sanitation

The pump station will serve the eastern corridor, including Long Swamp, Greenland, and Fat Hogs Bay, by pumping wastewater to the Paraquita Bay treatment plant. This project aims to improve sanitation and prevent raw sewage from flowing in the streets, and it will require residential connections.

Honourable Rymer added, "Today, with the commissioning of this Long Swamp Pump Station, we are locking three of these pillars together. The pump station will collect sewage to the existing network and pump it through the mains to Paraquita Bay after we flip the switch today, and the system goes live, the commissioning process begins, and we'll see the full system run cohesively."

Weeks of testing 

The minister assured residents that the new pump station will effectively transport sewage to the treatment plant at the required tertiary level. He stated that after a few weeks of testing, the plant will be fully commissioned as an “active, functional treatment facility, working in tandem with this pump station.”

"The pathway is clear. The system is ready. It works. It only needs to be fed with sewage now. We will flip the switch on a live system, not to sell dreams but to deliver reality," Hon Rymer added.

Free connection for limited time 

Virgin Islanders are encouraged to sign up for the system, as “this system will only reach its full potential if you connect to it.”

He emphasised that the financial burden has been removed; therefore, Virgin Islanders who register with the Water and Sewerage Department before the end of the year will have their connection costs covered by the government, "Free of charge".

"I'm not asking you to do this government a favour. I'm asking you to do it for yourselves, for your families, for your property values, for the cleanliness of your neighbourhood. Let us hook up to this system and keep our communities clean, beautiful, and healthy," Hon Rymer remarked.