The government says potable water production in Antigua and Barbuda is at a historic high, but officials continue to flag storage and distribution as ongoing challenges despite the commissioning of new infrastructure.

Addressing questions at Thursday’s post-Cabinet media briefing, Director General of Communications in the Prime Minister’s Office Maurice Merchant said Cabinet welcomed the official commissioning of the newest reverse osmosis plant at Barnacle Point.

“The Cabinet was very happy to learn that the plant will be officially commissioned tomorrow as it is anticipated that it will significantly improve the production of water in Antigua and Barbuda,” Merchant said.

He said production levels have reached unprecedented levels nationally.

“If you look at the historical figures, you would note that never before in the history of Antigua and Barbuda has so much water been produced,” Merchant said.

However, he said Cabinet remains concerned about storage capacity and distribution inefficiencies.

“There is an issue of storage and there is an issue of distribution,” Merchant said, pointing to aging infrastructure and leakage as persistent problems.

Merchant said efforts are ongoing to replace outdated pipelines as part of broader improvements to the distribution network.

“APUA has been attempting to improve on its distribution system with the replacement of all the aged pipes, which creates concern, lots of leakages for APUA,” he said.

He said Cabinet believes greater oversight is needed to resolve remaining issues and ensure water reaches consumers consistently.

“These are two areas that the Cabinet believes need improved oversight and need to be addressed to get the distribution of water to the citizens of Antigua and Barbuda to a level where everyone will be comfortable,” Merchant said.

Merchant said while progress has been made in production, challenges remain, and Cabinet continues to monitor the situation.