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‘CUC Water Division struggles with operational inefficiencies’
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Posted on Apr 12 2023
While there have been significant improvements in the Commonwealth Utilities Corp.’s water system on Saipan in the last four years, its Water Division as a whole still struggles with overcoming inefficiencies in its operations, according to the Transition Team assigned to CUC.
The Transition Team strongly recommended that instead of “waiting” for developments in U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-funded programs and projects, the current CUC water personnel are more than capable of assigning tasks that significantly impact efficacies.
Rep. Vincent S. Aldan (Ind-Saipan) served as leader of the Transition Team for CUC.
According to the Transition Team report, a copy of which was obtained by Saipan Tribune, Saipan’s water system produces, on average, 10 million gallons per day. However, according to both the acting division manager and the Water Direct Response Charge, the system loses 60% of the total daily gallons produced, based on the last water loss computation. This means that only 4 million gallons a day or 40% is accounted for and billed.
The Transition Team noted that, although production date collection needs improvement due to lack of consistency, if this unaccounted-for water data is confirmed, this is significant as the Water Division needs to recover its electrical pumping cost to meet the water demand. Thus, the team stated, electrical pumping cost is passed on to customers, which is why it is imperative that management prioritizes the reduction of water losses and reduce the burden on ratepayers from subsidizing this inefficiency.
To team said that water managers also do not know exactly know how many customers are being served by each tank service area. This critical information, the team said, is required to determine water losses and this important data should be readily available without delay.
The team said the lack of leadership continuity at the division manager level delays implementation of routine programs to maintain water quality, improve delivery of services, and protect the island’s finite resource.
