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WTF to add 2M gallons to Saipan water system before year ends
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Posted on Sep 11 2005
The CNMI Water Task Force has dug 30 new wells since drilling operations began in March 2004, Lt. Gov. Diego T. Benavente reported.
Benavente, who heads the task force, said 20 more wells were expected to be dug for the group to meet its goal of adding 2 million gallons per day to Saipan’s public water system.
“A total added capacity of 2 million gallons per day will have been added by December of this year. This is significant since the current total production is 9 to 11 million gallons per day, depending on rainfall,” said Benavente.
Besides adding new production wells, the task force’s well drilling program aims to eliminate bad wells from the system, he added.
In April 2005, the task force replaced six aging wells in the Agag Field with new ones to boost the water supply in the villages of Capitol Hill, Wireless Hill, I Denni, As Teo, Agag, all the way to the Kagman intersection.
The old wells, drilled between the late 1960s and early 1970s during the Trust Territory government, have yielded less and less water over time. Instead of rehabilitating the wells, the task force decided to drill new ones on the same sites for better results.
Exploratory well drilling operations are conducted in Agag, Mt. Tapochao, As Matuis, Marpi and Gualo Rai, while well field improvements are done in Kagman and the Sablan Quarry well fields.
Benavente also reported that the task force continues to detect leaks and repair the water system. About 80 miles of new piping is expected to be laid all throughout the island once the project is complete.
“The leak detection program will be performed by starting from each reservoir and isolating short distances in the main supply lines that may include laterals. The leak detection team will use ground penetrating radar equipment to locate water lines in areas where there are no as-built drawings,” he explained. “When a leak is detected it will be referred to repair team or contractor. This process will be repeated downstream until the end of the pressure zone. The system will then be pressurized zone by zone.”
