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CUC to restore water at Chalan Kiya next
The Commonwealth Utilities Corp. aim to reenergize water service in Chalan Kiya today, after several villages saw a return to some water power with the arrival of 10 generators aboard the USS Ashland on Saturday.
Acting CUC executive director John Riegel said they have installed three generators from the 10 aboard the Ashland to power the wells for the Isley Reservoir.
CUC announced yesterday they were restoring pressurized water to Chalan Kanoa, the villages of Susupe, Oleai and San Jose, and San Antonio and Chalan Piao.
“The next thing…is to reenergize Duenas well so we can get water in Chalan Kiya,” Riegel said.
Riegel said this is supposed to be tackled today.
He also said power poles from the hospital down to Power Plant 4 have been put up. “The goal is to get those up…so the hospital will be on CUC power and not on its own.”
At the Port of Saipan on Saturday, acting governor Ralph Torres said the generators would go to prioritizing water for wells and shelter homes.
Torres and Federal Emergency Management Agency federal liaison officer Stephen DeBlasio addressed reporters at the Saipan dock on Saturday while the USS Ashland crew unloaded supplies.
“Some of these generators are designated for the water wells to make sure that the hospital’s [reverse osmosis] system is good” for dialysis patients and health clinic, Torres said.
DeBlasio said the generators would “bring up the wellheads to get the water flowing.”
“We have a 500 [kilowatt generator] that is going to be brought over to the hospital,” he added.
“[CUC] is working to get the feeder to the hospital up and we hope that in seven days we will have sure power to the hospital.
“We are bringing a generator in just in case there are any problems with the generators that are currently powering up the hospital. And we are also going to swap them out so that the maintenance could be done on the generators that are owned by CUC.”
DeBlasio said they would continue with their water restoration efforts throughout the island expeditiously.
