BWSL expanding water services throughout San Pedro subdivisions

Belize Water Services Limited (BWSL) has been expanding its water services across San Pedro Town, Ambergris Caye, to meet the growth of the island community. The water company is working along the San Pedrito highway to upgrade its infrastructure and better serve the San Pedrito subdivision.
The upgrade for this subdivision, as per BWSL, is over $500,00 to handle the increasing demand better as the population in San Pedro continues to grow. The company noted that such projects across the island are climate resilient and sustainable, thus the work takes time to complete. BWSL also continues working on treating wastewater and refurbishing sewer maintenance holes. These additional projects are already adding up to around half a million dollars, which the water company funds.
While the work continues to connect more island families to potable water, in February 2022, BWSL spoke about a desalination plant scheduled to operate for southern San Pedro. BWSL shared that the plant would produce 600,000 additional gallons of water daily. This acquisition was primarily to address the high demand for water during the annual high tourism season. During the tourism season in the past, the water supply was not enough, and at specific parts of the day or night, some neighborhoods of San Pedro would be deprived of water to compensate for a better supply in other areas.
BWSL understands that Ambergris Caye continues to grow and demands more services. As such, the upgrades do not only gravitate to subdivisions but also with more extensive plans for northern Ambergris Caye for constructing a water treatment plant. Funding has been secured to meet the hefty price of about US$70 million for this project.
In the meantime, the only facilities producing water and treating wastewater and solid waste are located south of San Pedro in a couple of sewage ponds where several residences and businesses are connected. However, the need to upgrade this system grows as more households and establishments are added. The plan to upgrade the water supply and treatment on Ambergris Caye is an essential topic as many islanders reportedly still rely on well water, while others dispose of their wastewater and waste in the surrounding waterways. Currently, toxic waste in the waterways threatens the mangrove environment and the Meso-American Reef System, which supports the island’s tourism and fishing industry.