Residents in several communities in East Trinidad are experiencing water supply disruptions after vandals targeted the Water and Sewerage Authority’s (WASA) Biche Booster Station, stealing critical electrical wiring and causing a complete power outage at the facility.
According to WASA, the incident was discovered early Tuesday morning, forcing the booster station out of operation from 6am. The outage has affected water distribution to communities including Charuma, Biche, Plum Mitan.
WASA said the Trinidad and Tobago Electricity Commission (T&TEC) was immediately notified of the damage and repair crews from both agencies have since been deployed to the site and are working to restore the damaged electrical infrastructure and resume normal operations as quickly as possible.
In a statement, WASA strongly condemned the act of vandalism, describing it as a serious threat to the delivery of essential public services.
The authority also reminded the public that vandalism of public property is a criminal offence under Trinidad and Tobago law.
“Vandalism of public property is a criminal offence. Section 25 of the Summary Offences Act (Chap. 11:02) and Section 45 of the Malicious Damage Act (Chap. 11:06) provide that any person who willfully or maliciously damages public property is liable to penalties on conviction, including fines and imprisonment.”
The authority said it is working closely with relevant agencies to investigate the incident and prevent similar occurrences in the future.
Members of the public with information about suspicious activity are encouraged to contact the WASA Vandalism Hotline at 496-6738.