Chairman of the Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) Romney Thomas yesterday assured there would be no water shortages in the country and WASA’s water supplies will be kept safe.
He said WASA had contingencies in place to ensure its water supply was not disrupted while all its facilities, such as wells, reservoirs and water treatment plants, remained protected and safe around the clock.
His assurance came hours after it was reported that a few of WASA’s water treatment plants were shut down on Wednesday night after workers complained to president of the Public Services Association (PSA) Watson Duke about health and safety concerns.
Thomas said the walkout by WASA’s process plant operators had not affected the company’s operations.
He, however, admitted there were some health and safety issues that have been lingering which needed to be addressed.
He said: “I came there last night (Wednesday) and I listened to what he (Duke) had to say. Right now we are trying to address those issues.
“To be quite honest, from what I have heard it is not a long and unreasonable list and some of the things can be dealt with very quickly.
“We are addressing those as we speak. One or two of the other issues we will engage in discussions with the PSA and ensure that those are taken care of as well.”
Thomas stayed clear from answering what were some of the concerns on the list, since the union and WASA were still in discussions.
Questioned about 75 per cent of WASA’s workers walking off their jobs at the water treatment plants, resulting in its water supply throughout T&T being under threat, Thomas admitted that one or two of the plants were temporarily shut down.
“I think they (plants) have been restarted. I don’t think it is alarming as it is being made out to be. That is being alarmist.
“There were quite a few workers at head office last night. Some of those guys were not on duty. To be honest, we had a good meeting.
“Everybody was able to express their concerns and we are working towards normalising the situation during the course of today,” he said.
Thomas said WASA had contingencies plans in place to deal with situations, such as workers downing tools.
“Those plans are being effective right now. I want to give the population the assurance that there would be no water shortage and all the water supplies would be kept safe,” he added.