Jersey Water has applied for £4 million from the proposed Covid-19 Fiscal Stimulus Fund to enable the extension of the mains network to 500 homes in 2021.
That figure represents around a sixth of the remaining 3,000 properties in the Island that, it is estimated, are still using boreholes for drinking water and would represent a major step towards Islandwide access to the network.
News of the bid also comes just weeks before a new report is due to be published into water quality in Jersey. That report follows investigations last year into the contamination of private water supplies by the now banned chemical PFOS, which an interim report found was present at levels well below international limits across the Island. However, the review also found that nitrate levels in more than half of private boreholes were above recommended levels for drinking water.
Earlier this month Environment Minister John Young reiterated his view that all properties in Jersey should be connected to the mains water network and that the government needed to give greater priority to extending the expansion of the Island’s sewerage system. He said, however, that there was a question over who should pay for that work. Deputy Young has previously made the point that it makes better financial and organisational sense for mains water and mains drains to be extended together.
Jersey Water chief executive Helier Smith said the company had recently seen a ‘high level of demand’ from residents in an area of St Peter, where mains water is currently being extended to 72 properties, making that £400,000 scheme feasible.
He added: ‘As the Island’s supplier of mains drinking water, we would very much like to see all properties in Jersey have access to a high-quality water supply, whether connected to the mains or with a good in-home treatment system.
‘There are approximately 3,000 properties not connected to the mains network, a number that we would like to reduce. Jersey Water has recently submitted a bid to the Covid-19 Fiscal Stimulus Fund for £4 million to extend the mains network and connect 500 further properties in 2021.
‘The funding bid would not only create jobs and help stimulate the economy, but would also bring much-needed mains water to a significant number of properties across the Island that currently rely on borehole, rain or well water for their water supply.’
The £50m Covid-19 Fiscal Stimulus Fund was unveiled in July as part of a package of measures to pump money into Jersey’s economy following the pandemic. Its establishment was proposed by Treasury Minister Susie Pinel and the proposal is due to be debated by States Members next month.
If approved, £50 million would be drawn down from a £500 million ‘revolving credit facility’ that was agreed earlier this year between the government and a consortium of local banks – Barclays, Butterfield, HSBC, Lloyds and RBS International.
Half of the sum would be made available to spend from next month, with the remainder to be provided in February.
The proposition to set up the fund is due to be debated on 17 November.
