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Reading about WAPA's water problems on STT, it is clear that is a really messed up operation. Sounds like WAPA management all used to work for the City of Detroit :D. Are the water problems in STT affecting STJ or does STJ make it's own water?
No. My take is that although the water problems on STT are very serious indeed, they've been blown out of all proportion on such social networks as Facebook and posted by people who don't live here and simply scan news reports ...
Areas on STT which rely on potable piped water from WAPA are only a relatively small base compared to the whole. Parts of town, sub-base, Hospital Ground, Sugar Estate, Altona (all in or around town in low-lying areas) along with areas on the East end such as Anna's Retreat and Old Tutu have been affected by the WAPA pumps breakdown.
Visitors read garbage press such as, "St Thomas without water" and, "East end St Thomas out of water" and get their knickers all in a twist while even many newbie residents perpetuate the myths that THEY read on social websites when they can so easily access the local media. God Forbid they should actually get involved to the extent that they tune into local radio or buy a local newspaper when FB is right there with the low-down ...
No, STJ is not without water and neither is most of STT. Cheers, and Happy New Year!
The water problem is truthfully affecting a large sector of STT !!!! - many of the restaurants and stores Downtown , in Frenchtown, Sub-base, and Havensight have been suffering without much water for weeks - it has cost many people a lot of money, both owners and workers!! - as businesses cannot wash dishes, use bathrooms, and function normally. The sewage system has even clogged up in places as there is not enough water to allow it to operate - absolutely an unacceptable situation.
It presents a real third world impression to visitors when they see bathrooms closed, paper products being used because dishes and glasses can't be cleaned and washed - and all the associated cleanliness issues that are caused by NO Water !!
Really this should be reported nationally - it has been a disaster for way too many people both in business and in their households - I have been in STT over 35 years and have never seen a problem as bad as this - and to blindly accept it as 'Wapa problems' is ridiculous - luckily there has been no disease epidemic yet but really it is a small step to that happening under the circumstances - I have never been one to rail at the VI problems but the ability to supply clean water seems very basic and solvable - what happened to the 5 water generating barges the US sent down after Marilyn - they left them to rot! - Our VI National Guard is sent to Iraq and Afghanistan as water production experts - for the Governor to not step in and get some expert help here shows a total lack of leadership.
So ends my rant - of course most of us live off cisterns --- but the homes and businesses that rely on Wapa water really do have a problem that negatively affects a large portion of STT.
So is this going to last for 2 more months??? I need to know because if so I will cancel my STT hotel and get something on STJ for a few days instead. My money will go to STJ over STT, so hopefully they get this resolved soon. Any ETA on the situation???
There would be no reason whatsoever to change your accommodation plans. As much as I appreciate Exit Zero's angst, this is NOT a problem which affects anywhere near the whole of St Thomas. As he says, most of us rely upon cistern water and not potable piped water, while most resorts have their own desal/reverse osmosis plants. WAPA's latest claim, I believe, is that the problem will be fixed within the next week.
WAPA still sounds like they came from Detroit. At least you have palm trees. (tu)
Granted, I don't know what the original poster saw on face book, but i feel confident that comments from my "face book" friends (as well as zero's above post) are accurate and based in fact. Furthermore, I don't understand how brushing a problem as pervasive as WAPA under the rug helps anyone.
"YES", WAPAs problems do effect STJ. In addition to the lack of public water on STT, individual cisterns (STT/STJ) require electric powered motors to pump water for household use. When the power goes out (frequent black outs) then the water stops flowing. Some homes/businesses have a generator which can be periodically fired up during a blackout to flush the toilet and cool the refrigerator.
If you booked a villa, I recommend you pointedly ask the rental agent, "What happens WHEN the power/water goes out?" If you hear some sort of ridiculous defensive reply like "these problems are blown out of proportion by 'newbies' and 'social media' ", then cancel your reservation and find a villa / rental with a generator/cistern.
If you have reservations at a condo or hotel, then call the resort and ask the same direct questions about water and power. Most resorts have independent water and power and a few don't. Better to ask then be surprised. The same is true for restaurants.
Canceling all reservations entirely is over kill at this point. Make a few calls first. Adjust if needed. According to all reports, WAPAs promising new water equipment up and running within the next few weeks. Stay tuned....
blu4u wrote:
Canceling all reservations entirely is over kill at this point. Make a few calls first. Adjust if needed. According to all reports, WAPAs promising new water equipment up and running within the next few weeks. Stay tuned....
Oh, this is WONDERFUL news. I arrive Jan 7th for a week at Sapphire Beach. Anybody know if they are suffering from this island "charm"?
I read the original story on Virgin Islands Daily News at this link
I hope that is a trusted source. Yes? (tu)
I didn't mean to get everyone so riled-up. :S I was just curious about STJ's water supply. I was also
commenting on how clueless the WAPA Mgt seems to be....... just like the entrenched idiots that run
the city of Detroit....... :X . Michigan now has a law that gives the new governor the power to assign
an emergency manager to run failing cities, so far, four or five cities lost most of their democratically elected officials,
who were replaced by the Governor's cronies. Detroit is soon to be the largest of Michigan's cities where that will happen.
To have democracy cancelled by the governor seems to be an extreme move but it seems to be the only workable
solution at this point.
...Nuff said about Michigan, We are about to book a late May trip to USVI and we are really looking forward to our fifth
visit. It is great to get back to VINOW to get connected with paradise again. It is a true paradise in spite of WAPA.
Cheers to you all 😎
On St. John, we have not been affected by the water outages. Most of St. John does not have 'city' water, almost all of us use cisterns. I have no doubt that the water outages in STT have had a huge impact on a number of businesses. I know if the same happened on St. John, the majority of our restaurants would have a major problem and probably not be able to open. Business has been rough for many in the VI for several years now....not having water when we are just entering season could have a devastating effect on some of these small business owners.
If you want to ask questions before you come, ask the agent whom you rented from if your villa/condo uses cistern water and if they have a generator. If they use cistern water, you are set. If they have a generator and the power goes out, you are set. If they don't have a generator you will not have water or power during a power outage (cisterns need pumps in most cases unless they are gravity fed).
Where does STJ get the fresh water from? Other than rainfall does STJ have a water production facility? I know the Westin and Caneel Bay have water plants - do they sell water to the water trucks that fill the cisterns of all the villas? Many of the Mega Villas have more bathrooms and showers than bedrooms, washing machine, dishwasher and fresh water swimming pools and gardens. Certainly rainfall cannot supply their needs since most rental guests paying a big price for a week would not practice water conservation the way Islanders do[ in their sustainable homes.]
I know the Coral Bay water plant was not approved for construction so where does all the fresh water come from to supply the East End that has a very arid environment and very limited rainfall.
The STT WAPA plant supplies all the electric power to STJ - is the 'Green Hornet' even an option anymore? -- doesn't the majority of the fresh water that is available to supplement rainfall come from STT as well?
No worries. We've been trying to hook into the water line. But, Sapphire still has water trucks filling up the cistern 5 or 6 times a day.
dano50 wrote:
i was on sapphire beach village mid nov & yes, my water stopped working. i told mgmt i needed a shower & they upgraded me to a beach condo that did have water. i wish they would have warned me ahead of time. i did have a great trip. cheers!!! ps ask to speak to rahim if problems, im not sure others would have upgraded me.
Your problem had nothing to do with the current shortage and was an isolated incident. I'm glad you were able to be moved. As SapphireBeach08 posted, the Sapphire complex hasn't had any problems with the current shortage and neither have any of the other resorts on the East end..
On St. John we have a stand pipe across from the DMV that water trucks fill from and I know Caneel will sell their water as well. I know Caneel has their own desalination set up, and I can see a very large water tank across from the DMV, but to be perfectly honest, I'm not sure where that water actually comes from. I guess on St. John the two big factors that allow us to not be as heavily affected are the smaller population and the fact that most of the places here have cisterns of their own. We have the most trouble during a drought. When cisterns run dry, and lots of water is being trucked, the wait list can become long (I remember the list being more than a week out in the past). I also remember times when we were in a drought that many villas just unhooked their washing machines. Made for some unhappy clients! I really feel bad for the businesses and people in STT that have to go without water. Being conservative is a always a good practice, but this is just ridiculous.
stjohnjulie wrote: and
On St. John we have a stand pipe across from the DMV that water trucks fill from and I can see a very large water tank across from the DMV, but to be perfectly honest, I'm not sure where that water actually comes from.
Does anyone on the forum know where the water on STJ is produced? Thanks.
Today's Daily News reports that at 4:30AM Friday, 30 water trucks mainly from STJ boarded a barge headed to STT filled with water from Caneel Bay's water tap. I don't know if that answers the question! In the same report it's noted that the Sugar Bay Resort on STT has been given a special dispensation to permit it to temporarily sell its water to WAPA to reduce the shortage.
dano50 wrote:
stt res , then what was my problem where i had no water at midnight & again at 6 am?????? i was told it was rolling STT water blackouts.
I really don't know. If you were upgraded to a unit which DID have water then obviously it was an isolated problem in the unit to which you were assigned. To the best of my memory there were no "rolling water outages" on STT during your stay and poster Sapphire 08 who has a unit there indicates that the resort is not yet hooked up to the (relatively newly installed) potable water system so wouldn't have been affected anyway.
SapphireBeach08 wrote:
No worries. We've been trying to hook into the water line. But, Sapphire still has water trucks filling up the cistern 5 or 6 times a day.
STT Resident wrote:
Today's Daily News reports that at 4:30AM Friday, 30 water trucks mainly from STJ boarded a barge headed to STT filled with water from Caneel Bay's water tap. I don't know if that answers the question! In the same report it's noted that the Sugar Bay Resort on STT has been given a special dispensation to permit it to temporarily sell its water to WAPA to reduce the shortage.
@dano50: I'm not an expert, but from reading the posts from SB08 and STTRes I would conclude that not enough truck loads of water were able to be delivered, to the buildings you were in, to handle the demand. When the cistern runs out, no water until the next truck delivery.
There is only one large cistern which supplies all the water for Sapphire Beach Resort & Marina. So if you were moved to a different unit in the complex the problem must have been within the first unit.
RockyDock wrote: @dano50: I'm not an expert, but from reading the posts from SB08 and STTRes I would conclude that not enough truck loads of water were able to be delivered, to the buildings you were in, to handle the demand. When the cistern runs out, no water until the next truck delivery.
With all due respect I think you've misread the timeframe and the sequence of events. The poster was not there during the water shortage and he/she was moved to another unit which had water. Ergo the problem was with the water in his/her unit, not in the whole complex where all the water comes from the same holding unit.
