Antigua and Barbuda’s government has secured a detailed engineering proposal to fix a decades-long leakage issue at Potworks Dam, a critical water infrastructure project that stands to recover nearly 800 million gallons of lost storage capacity if the work moves forward.
Utilities Minister Melford Nicholas made the first public announcement of the completed assessment during the administration’s weekly “Taking Stock” radio broadcast on Tuesday evening, noting the disclosure qualified as breaking news because the final report had not yet been delivered to the national Cabinet for review.
According to Nicholas, the leakage problem has plagued the 320-acre dam for a quarter of a century, preventing the facility from ever reaching its maximum designed storage capacity of 2 billion gallons. The issue originates from undetected seepage under the dam’s southern spillway, which gradually eroded the supporting soil beneath the structure. Over time, this erosion weakened the secondary spillway construction built atop the foundation, leading to the persistent leak that has drained stored water for decades.
Technical specialists from Cuba carried out the full on-site assessment of the damage and submitted their final report, complete with detailed technical schematics and engineering recommendations, on August 17. Now that the assessment phase is complete, government officials will next calculate the full cost of executing the repair works to determine the project’s next steps.
Nicholas emphasized that the government intends to advance the project on an accelerated timeline, with the goal of completing all repairs before the region’s peak rainy season begins. Recovering the lost 800 million gallons of capacity would transform the dam’s ability to serve as a reliable water reserve for the country. At current daily depletion rates of roughly 1 million gallons, the additional storage would provide a substantial buffer against water shortages during prolonged dry spells, even after accounting for natural evaporation losses.
Beyond the recovered storage, Potworks Dam’s system is engineered to capture excess water that would otherwise be wasted. Of the dam’s two spillways, one routes overflow to a network of smaller dams in the Collins area, where the water is captured and retained for future use.
The Potworks Dam repair project is just one part of the government’s broader strategy to boost the country’s water security. Officials are also evaluating and developing additional new water catchment initiatives, all designed to strengthen Antigua and Barbuda’s resilience against extended drought conditions that increasingly threaten the nation’s water supply.