St. George's, February 24, 2009, (GIS): The National Water and Sewage Authority (NAWASA) has lost EC$16 million to customers who are delinquent in making payments, says the chairman of the Board of Directors. Mr. Terrence Smith said delinquent payment is something NAWASA has been experiencing for years, describing it as one of the challanges to be overcome by the management of the Authority. NAWASA was created by an Act of Parliament in 1991, and one of its regulations was a stipulation on rates the Authority can charge for water consumption. The rates have not been reviewed in the 18 years since NAWASA was set up. Mr. Smith has suggested that one of NAWASA's priorities should be tariff reform. "I believe it was sometime in 2006 that the Authority retained the services of professional consultants and they did a tariff study of the authority", he said. "So this is not a new initiative that we are now embarking on. They looked at the tariff and presented the background to situation and made certain recommendations and proposals". Once a decision is made by the Board of Directors, it will forwarded to Works Minister Joseph Gilbert, who will "represent us in Cabinet in putting it on the table for consideration by the policy makers,'' Mr. Smith said. Meanwhile, NAWASA General Manager Christopher Husbands has announced that the Authority is embarking on new development projects. They include a Southern Grenada Water Project, which is being funded with a grant from the European Union. "It's an 18-month project that will involve significant work between Mama Cannes and the St. Paul's Main Road,'' said the General Manager. "This is being done to improve the level and quality of water supply.'' Mr. Husbands has appealed for the cooperation of the Grenadian people as NAWASA launches its various projects. "There is going to be disruption in the supply of water,'' he warned. "So we're asking the public to engage in a minimum storage on the days of disruptions. We are also asking for the cooperation of motorist with the inconveniences regarding traffic.'' From: GIS INSIDE GRENADA NEWS