BREAKING NEWS: Fort James RO Plant breaks down; APUA said to be ‘keeping it under wraps’

Only one day after its formal handover, celebrated with a gala luncheon on September 12, the Fort James Reverse Osmosis (RO) Plant has broken down, sources close to the operation allege.

Today’s shutdown of the Plant was caused by a mechanical failure, the sources claim.

However, fortunately, the technicians who commissioned the Plant are still on island and should be here until the weekend, the informers tell REAL News; so it is hoped that the Antigua Public Utilities Authority (APUA) will be able to have the problem corrected soon.

The matter reportedly is being kept quiet to avoid embarrassing the Minister, Sir Robin Yearwood, and Prime Minister Gaston Browne, who has been boasting about the additional supply of water to his constituency and the surrounding communities.

Pundits say that Browne’s election hopes are pinned on improving the distribution of water, and the success of the Fort James Plant has become critically important given that the promised three-million-gallon capacity Bethesda Plant will not materialize by year-end as he had hoped.

Meanwhile, one person who is aware of the situation tells REAL News he hopes the Tropical Disturbance now being monitored by the MET Office brings enough rain to satisfy affected households – but not too much to stir up the sea and affect the operations of the RO plants.