Water Supply Improvement Projects in the Pipeline for Bordeaux and Lower Love, Reports VIDA

Dept. of Agriculture outlines plans including new cisterns, renovated wells, and the Bordeaux Watershed Improvement Project to boost water supply; $2 million in federal funds allocated with additional support on the way

The ability to provide a consistent water supply to the territory’s farmers remains a challenge for the Department of Agriculture, one which Commissioner Louis Petersen says the department is making significant efforts to ameliorate. In an update before the Committee on Economic Development and Finance on Wednesday, Mr. Petersen outlined plans to bolster water infrastructure territory-wide, including “the bulk purchase of water tanks,” using funding from the American Rescue Plan Act. He also reported that VIDA is working with the Office of Management and Budget to finalize the release of funds for several projects.

“Specific examples of these proposed projects include the construction of two 100,000-gallon cisterns in Estate Bordeaux, the renovation of an abandoned cistern in Estate Dorothea, [and] the water well expansion project in the community gardens in Estate Lower Love in St. Croix,” Mr. Petersen shared. The latter has been estimated to cost $80,000, but an engineer will soon be tasked to “properly scope it out so that it goes to bid with a common scope for everyone to bid on.”