Antigua and Barbuda is set to gain critical additional water capacity in the next month and a half, as a new reverse osmosis desalination unit at the Fort James facility prepares to enter full operation, government officials have confirmed. The announcement was made by Director General of Communications Maurice Merchant during a press briefing held following a recent Cabinet meeting, coming as the Antigua Public Utilities Authority (APUA) rushes to expand water production amid an ongoing prolonged drought that has crippled traditional water sources across the nation.
“Within the coming six weeks, another reverse osmosis plant—that is the fourth reverse osmosis plant—will come online at the Fort James facility,” Merchant stated publicly during the briefing. He clarified an earlier reference that mislabeled the unit as the third at the site, confirming definitively that this will be the fourth operational reverse osmosis plant hosted at the Fort James location.
Once fully activated, the new plant will contribute an extra 400,000 imperial gallons of treated desalinated water to the country’s national distribution network each day. This additional output comes at a critical moment for APUA, which has seen a sharp drop in available surface water due to the extended dry conditions. In recent updates, the authority reported that total daily water production across all sources has fallen from roughly 11 million imperial gallons to just 9 million, representing a 2 million gallon daily deficit that has put intense strain on the country’s ability to meet residential, commercial and public demand.
As traditional surface water reserves continue to dwindle, Antigua and Barbuda has grown steadily more reliant on desalination via reverse osmosis technology to close the gap between supply and national need. The new unit is expected to directly help APUA address both ongoing water shortages and persistent distribution challenges that have impacted communities across the twin-island nation throughout the drought period.