MONROVIA, Montserrado – The series of recent outages in water supplied by the Liberia Water and Sewer Corporation to greater Monrovia appears to be due to a faulty 1500 kva generator, according to a Bush Chicken investigation.
From Nov. 26-30, large swathes of the region were without water, including Congo Town and Paynesville.
LWSC did not issue a public service announcement on the outage. In the past, the agency has often waited until public outrage has built up before issuing statements. Additionally, LWSC does not maintain a website and its Facebook page is not regularly updated.
Meanwhile, LWSC’s management and the technical team were not willing to speak on the outage during a visit to the agency’s head office.
Kimmie Weeks, the chairman of LWSC’s board, did issue a somewhat cryptic message through his Facebook page on Nov. 26:
Over the next several days, LWSC will be making another giant effort to solve the issue of the mystery of water not reaching to Central Monrovia. I want to in this public forum warn water trucking companies not to attempt to sabotage these efforts for selfish reasons. An inquiry is ongoing and those involved will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. The people of Central Monrovia shall not be deprived of water because a handful of people want to make money.
In the absence of official information, an employee of LWSC, who spoke only on the basis of anonymity, said the entire White Plains facility had been shut down due to the lack of electricity from the Liberia Electricity Corporation.
People in search of water. Photo: Zeze Ballah
“Residents will continue to experience water outage as long as the testing of the hydro is ongoing,†the employee said, referring to ongoing tests to prepare the rehabilitated hydropower plant for operation mid-December.
The employee said a 1500 kva generator purchased by LWSC through a local dealer at the cost of over US$200,000 did not last for more than a week, suggesting that there were improprieties with the purchase, as the generator may not have been brand new.
Prior to purchasing the 1500 kva generator, the employee said the entity was using a 1700 kva generator to pump water to communities, which also failed.
Without cooperation from LWSC, it is difficult to verify the account, however, if LWSC was relying solely on power from LEC, it is unclear why the water outage would last longer than the weekend when LEC usually runs its tests.
The outage was particularly impactful because it included November 29, a day when Liberians were celebrating the 121st birth anniversary of former president William V. S. Tubman.
Residents in affected communities reported waking up as early 4:00 a.m. to fetch water from nearby wells.
For Miatta Davis, a five-month pregnant resident of Monrovia’s Sinkor neighborhood, she had to wake up early in the morning for five days straight, to fetch water for her children to bath for school.
“The situation is unbearable,†she said when asked about the impact of the outage on her. She said LWSC has not yet provided an explanation for the outage.
Miatta Davis, Resident, Sinkor Community Photo Zeze Ballah
When The Bush Chicken contacted James Kpargoi, LEC’s public relations specialist, to ascertain whether the utility provider was the cause of the water outages, he declined to comment.
Featured photo by Zeze Ballah
