The U.S. Interior Department recently awarded the Water and Power Authority $475,000 to support expanding drinking water supply pipes in Estate Anna’s Retreat on St. Thomas, according to Interior.
Expansion of water infrastructure in Anna’s Retreat began in 2010, with plans to complete the work in phases. Assistant Secretary for Insular Areas Tony Babauta, of the Department of the Interior, awarded the grant to help bring the work closer to completion.
Funding will support the installation of potable water distribution pipelines, service connections and fire hydrants that service the Anna’s Retreat Heights area, according to a statement from Interior. The proposed distribution system is expected to extend from Old Tutu North through the residential community to Route 4.
"Increasing access to sanitation and sustainable drinking-water systems brings large aggregate benefits that improve not only individual health but also the economic development outcomes of a community,” Babauta said.
The work will help WAPA increase the percentage of homes connected to St. Thomas’ East End water system by 55 percent, according to Interior.
When the project began in 2010, the entire project was projected to cost roughly $4.3 million, to install 60,000 feet of pipe, and ultimately to connect more than 800 residences to the public water system, according to a statement issued by Gov. John deJongh Jr. after the groundbreaking.
The new system is gravity-fed and is to have automatic water readers to allow WAPA to read them remotely, aspects that will save energy and labor costs, according to statements to the press at the time.
