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PORT NEWS ARCHIVE
Fresh water in New Providence was in short supply back in the early 1970s. The solution? Haul fresh water aboard a barge running from North Andros and store supplies in a reservoir on Arawak Cay.
That operation didn’t end until December 2011, when the last shipment of water was discharged and the Titas — the barge that had done much of the hauling over the years — was sold as scrap metal to a company in Louisiana.
The old barge, however, served the The Bahamas well for over those three decades, transporting approximately 35 billion imperial gallons of fresh water to Nassau.
Today, fresh water should be in abundant supply on the island for years to come, thanks in large measure to the development of new Nassau Container Port and subsequent expansion of Blue Hills Desalination Plant.A new large water tank has been added at Blue Hills. Meanwhile, the old reservoir on Arawak Cay is scheduled for demolition in order to make way for Port development.
A little fresh water history
The first fresh water barging operation began in November 1976. At the time, New Providence was experiencing declining water production at the Blue Hills Desalination Plant, rising salinities in the wells supplying water, and a lack of additional lands to expand well production.
The tanker Rio Titan — later renamed the Titas — was first introduced in 1989, and capable of transporting 2.9 million imperial gallons of fresh water per trip.
In 2004, fresh water shipments began to decline, when Hurricane Frances swamped some of the fresh water wells in North Andros with contaminating seawater. With less fresh water available, the Blue Hills Desalination Plant was expanded in 2006, which helped to reduce demand.
Enter the new Port
About the time the Nassau Container Port facility was announced at Arawak Cay, the future of New Providence’s fresh water supply came to a head.
First, the existing water reservoirs stood in the way of new port construction and operations. Secondly, water transhipments had continued in a slow decline due to summer hurricanes and winter cold front, threatening the water supply.
To make way for the port and a more sustainable fresh water solution, a new tank was constructed at the Blue Hills Desalination Plant to replace the reservoirs and provide sufficient fresh water capacity for New Providence residents well into the future.
