CUC loses huge amount of water from Kannat Tabla tank

Water distribution problems continue to plague the Commonwealth Utilities Corp. as they lost about 1,000 gallons of water per minute from the Kannat Tabla tank yesterday.

According to engineer Nicolette Villagomez, a huge amount of water was lost yesterday after they released water from Kannat Tabla million-gallon water tank to the Chalan Laulau area.

“We released water to Chalan Laulau as per our schedule and within two hours we lost seven feet in the tank and that translates to 200,000 gallons of water and that is not normal. That is not normal at all,” Villagomez told Saipan Tribune.

She said it usually takes four to five hours to use up about eight feet of water from the Kannat Tabla tank.

“We’re looking at a possible leak or leaks,” Villagomez said.

Today, customers served by the Kannat Tabla reservoir will experience intermittent water service beginning at 6:30am. Customers in Chalan Kiya, Kannat Tabla, Fina Sisu, As Perdido, As Terlaje, Quartermaster Road, Chalan Pale Arnold Road from Chalan Monsignor Guerrero Road to Gualo Rai Road, and Beach Road from Chalan Monsignor Guerrero Road to Gualo Rai Road will be affected.

CUC water personnel were unable to provide a specific day or time for the conclusion of the testing process.

“We will be sectioning off the Kannat Tabla service area and we’ll see how the water reacts to it,” Villagomez said

Once they find a section where water supply drops significantly, the leak detection team will inspect the area.

“We’re addressing leaks as fast as we can and we have a contract that’s hopefully be signed soon that will help us with the repairs of the leaks in the system,” CUC associate engineer Larry Manacop added.

Source problem
Manacop added that they are also looking at problems at the water source.

“Not sure if it’s leak but also we’re looking at source problem. We have seven wells on Isley that are down because of pump and motor issues and those also affect the loading of our Kannat Tabla tank,” Manacop said.

The downed pumps, which can produce about 50 gallons of water per minute for a total of 350 gpm, will take about six to eight weeks to be replaced.

Manacop said they already ordered the replacements but they had to be manufactured. Overall, this would translate to fewer water supplies for customers on island.

As of now, water personnel will be focusing on addressing the distribution issues first.

“We can’t address the wells until we get the pumps and motors in. We ordered them and they’re not on island yet,” Manacop said.