ST. THOMAS — The dismal state of the territory’s crumbling infrastructure was on full display in downtown Charlotte Amalie on Thursday, with broken sewer and water lines flooding Veterans Drive, and power failures leaving traffic lights dark.
Following weeks of heavy rain, the V.I. Waste Management Authority announced Wednesday that a sewer line had collapsed between Banco Popular in Altona and the Cancryn Pump Station.
“This situation is causing sewer system issues in the downtown area, which may result in potential manhole overflows,” according to the statement.
On Thursday, the problem got much worse.
The V.I. Territorial Emergency Management Authority issued an alert Thursday afternoon, warning travelers “to avoid Sub Base near Pueblo due to extreme flooding caused by a water line rupture that is linked to a collapsed sewer line.”
The road was fully engulfed in several inches of water in some places, and V.I. Police shut down the eastbound lane near Pueblo and re-routed traffic around the area via Judy Gomez Road, while the Waste Management Authority ran a temporary bypass line.
Meanwhile, WAPA crews worked to repair transmission lines in manholes on the waterfront, which left thousands of customers without power starting at around 10 a.m., and caused feeders to fail around St. Thomas and St. John throughout the day.
The Waste Management Authority also issued an updated statement Thursday about problems on both St. Thomas and St. Croix.
Crews and contractors “are actively working to restore services to the community after the LBJ Pump Station on St. Croix went offline due to mechanical failure, and a sewer line between Banco Popular Altona Branch and the Cancryn Pump Station collapsed on St. Thomas. Both incidents, resulting from heavy rainfall, occurred on Wednesday,” and “have adversely affected both the above-ground (pump station) and underground (sewer line) wastewater systems,” according to the statement.
The systems “are vital to the community, and every effort is being made to maintain them,” the statement added. “On St. Thomas, pump trucks are operating around the clock to manage overflowing manholes in the affected area. The team is also working on installing a bypass or pump-around system to minimize the duration of service interruptions. On St. Croix, while the pump station remains offline, crews are preparing an auxiliary pump to temporarily restore central operations for the community as efficiently as possible.”
The Waste Management Authority is also urging residents to be mindful of not illegally dumping fats, oils, and greases, which clog the aging sewer system, along with debris that causes blockages and failures.
“Interim repairs are being conducted to keep the system operational until a more permanent solution can be implemented, which involves prudent replacements in the future. Funding for replacing the LBJ Sewershed is now available, and the same will soon apply to Cancryn,” according to a statement from Waste Management Interim Executive Director, Daryl Griffith.
