John Compton Dam desilting to start soon

A delegation from the Water and Sewerage Company (WASCO) along with the contractor for phase one of the John Compton Dam Rehabilitation Project, as well as the Parliamentary Representative for the area met with residents of Tet Chemin on Sunday, April 22, to discuss particulars about the project and other water related concerns.
The meeting came amid calls from residents for information about the project which is soon to commence. A variation has been made to the original proposal for the desilting of the John Compton Dam that will now comprise two phases. The first phase is the construction of the sediment disposal site and the second phase is the installation of a drain pipe that will transport the silt downstream and the dredging of the dam.
Phase one, which is set to commence in the coming weeks will be undertaken by Mega Contracting, a Saint Lucian owned company, whose CEO, Ned Samuels, as well engineers attached to the company, on Sunday addressed the concerns raised by the residents. The concerns ranged from disturbances that will be caused by heavy equipment when the project begins as well as employment opportunities and the availability of water.
The desilting of the John Compton Dam has become necessary in order to restore the facility to its original capacity. As a result of heavy siltation due to climate change factors, namely Hurricane Tomas in 2010 and the 2013 Christmas Eve trough, two thirds of the dam was left filled with silt.
The commencement of phase one of the project marks the end of almost eight years of planning. Plans for the second phase of the project have not yet been finalized.