💧 Water and Power · St. Thomas, VI
WAPA board approved St. Thomas waterline project and AMI contract amendments
Official document: https://www.viwapa.vi/docs/default-source/2023-pr/press-release-(5.23.2025)-wapa-governing-board-approves-water-system-upgrades.pdf?sfvrsn=d80e89b3_3
The Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority’s governing board approved a $2.7 million waterline rehabilitation project in Mahogany Estate on St. Thomas, according to a May 23, 2025, WAPA release.
WAPA said the project would replace potable water lines installed in 1965 with PVC piping and increase line sizes to meet American Water Works Association standards. The authority said the work was expected to improve water quality and system pressure and reduce operating and maintenance costs. The project was to be funded through an Environmental Protection Agency Drinking Water Capital Improvement Grant.
The board also approved two amendments tied to WAPA’s Advanced Metering Infrastructure project. One amendment, valued at $427,350, covered the manufacture of 140 additional composite poles for AMI collector installations. WAPA said the poles were intended to support storm recovery and reduce outage frequency and duration.
A second amendment, totaling $242,500, expanded project management services by Barkley Technologies through the end of 2026 to oversee AMI pole installation work.
In his report to the board, Chief Executive Officer Karl Knight said WAPA had continued work on federally funded infrastructure projects and system-hardening efforts ahead of the 2025 hurricane season. The release also said Knight recognized two WAPA scholarship recipients: Joshua Calcano, a University of the Virgin Islands engineering student, and Daniel L. Newton, an electrical engineering student at the University of Florida.