Bahamas News
Grand Bahama Utility Company Limited is making steady headway towards return of potable water throughout the island after the impact of catastrophic Hurricane Dorian
#Freeport, GB, November 11, 2019 – Bahamas – .The Grand Bahama Utility Company Limited (GBUC) confirms steady progress towards our full return to potable water on the island of Grand Bahama. Prior to the onset of Hurricane Dorian, tap water provided to the community of Grand Bahama was below 600 ppm (salt particle content per million parts of water), which bettered by a large margin the 1,000 ppm World Health Organization (WHO) standard for consumption. In certain other jurisdictions, 1,500 ppm is considered an acceptable level.
In addition to the damaged pumping stations, which were brought back on line within 5-7 days of the storm to restore the island’s running water ‘distribution’, the wrath of Hurricane Dorian compromised the island’s ‘supply’ of fresh salt-free water in Wellfields 1, 3, 6, comprising some 220 wells in total, which account for 35%, 5% and 60% (respectively) of water being supplied throughout the island. Wellfields 1 & 3 were flooded with 4 ft. of sea water, while Wellfield 6 was flooded with 21 ft. of sea water for a period of 36 hours during and after the treacherous storm. The flooding destroyed the entire vertical infrastructure including utility poles, wires, electrical components, control and motoring systems.
Utility Engineering Manager, Remington Wilchcombe said, “Once the flood water had subsided at Wellfields 1 & 6, our team immediately enacted an action plan to restore water supply. An assessment was conducted to determine the impact to the systems. One of the wells tested at 25,000 ppm, which is close to the salinity of sea water at 35,000 ppm. Results a few days later revealed that the average reading per well was 8,000 ppm in both Wellfields 1 & 3 and 9,000 ppm in Wellfield 6.”
Post assessment, mechanics were recruited to bring back-up systems into service. Once back-up systems were restored, the GBUC was able to begin rationing fresh water reserves into the system 5 days after the storm.
Simultaneously, the GBUC began working with Sanitation Services Company Limited to conduct clean-up efforts within the Wellfields. Simultaneously, Grand Bahama Power Company Limited was conducting repairs and working to regenerate the power systems at Wellfields 1 & 6. Additionally, industrial partners including the Grand Bahama Shipyard, Bahamas Industrial Technologies Ltd., Martin Marietta Aggregates – Bahama Rock, and Freeport Container Port, were all contributing resources to the restoration by providing technical service and physical support in manpower and equipment to return the plant to service.
Early September tests indicated the average salinity reading per well had improved with Wellfield 1 down to 6,000 ppm, Wellfield 3 at 2,500 ppm, and Wellfield 6 reduced to 7,000 ppm. By September 30th, the average salinity reading per well had improved with Wellfield 1 at 4,000 ppm, Wellfield 3 reduced to 2,000 ppm, and Wellfield 6 still showing the highest salinity content of 6,000 ppm.
Mr. Wilchcombe stated, “In an effort to ensure the speediest process for restoring potable water, we enlisted international services to perform a first phase Hydrological Study to provide further testing and recommendations relating to the movement, and physical and chemical composition of the water.” Water & Earth Sciences, Inc. conducted a Resistivity Test, which assesses the level of salt water existing in the water lens. The results confirmed that 99% of the Wellfields were inundated with sea water, which compromised the water quality. Further, it was determined that all of the Wellfields had varying layers of salt water, brackish water and fresh water.
A second assessment was conducted by The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), which included the areas of Freeport City and East End. The results confirmed findings provided by Water & Earth Sciences, Inc. noting that the Wellfields had significant sea water incursion.
A third assessment was conducted by Dr. Yakov Livshitz from the Hydrological Service of Israel, which again included the areas of Freeport City and East End. First, their team visited the island to gather samples for testing to determine the porous nature of the limestone. The results were analyzed and a follow-up visit ensued. Second, a detailed assessment to locate fresh water lenses in the current Wellfields was carried out. Flow rates were tested to determine the time frame and restoration rate. Finally, a survey was conducted to find additional fresh water lenses outside of the Wellfields to extract or supply fresh water. As a result, fresh water was found in some high elevated areas. However, the capacity is not known at this time.
Geron Turnquest, General Manager of the GBUC said, “A second phase Hydrological Study must be carried out to validate and confirm the capacity of the fresh water lenses that were found for the development of new Wellfield locations. The most feasible approach, currently underway, is to bypass various higher salt content wells in Wellfield 6 with additional fresh water reserves further East, and to revive and develop Wellfield 4, which has been out of service for a number of years.”
In light of current efforts to reduce water salinity to WHO standards, the GBUC has also discussed the possibility of a Reverse Osmosis (RO) System. Mr. Turnquest added, “We have considered the possibility of introducing a large-scale Reverse Osmosis System. But we are advised that this presents challenges. Despite it being an expensive investment that will impact the cost of water to the consumer, it will also take a minimum of three to four months to develop. By this time, we aim to have resolved this salinity issue with new measures in place. An RO system on this scale would only be needed if the possibility of having no fresh water exists.” That said, smaller backup RO systems in small modular units are very likely be part of our plan to provide drinking water in the event of a future hurricane.
Assessments to date reveal a continuing decline in salinity levels. Wellfield 1 is now 2,400 ppm, Wellfield 3 is now ‘potable’ at 500 ppm, and Wellfield 6 is 3,600 ppm. Ian Rolle, President of the Grand Bahama Port Authority says, “The GBUC is committed to resolving the issue of salinity levels as a result of the tidal surge. The actual water pressure and the volume pumped per day is back up to pre-storm levels which is reassuring. Key infrastructure works are in progress and we continue to confer with the experts to bring about the best and speediest return to our pre-storm highest quality fresh water”.
Residents have been advised through public notices that the water can be used for sanitary purposes only and not for consumption. GBPA Chairman Sarah St George added, “We wish to emphasize that the water is clean and bacteria free. While we work to restore potable water, we have established a partnership between GBPA, GBUC, NEMA and several NGOs to provide free drinking water to local communities at water distribution sites island-wide. We are grateful to our NGO partners Isra-Aid, Samaritan’s Purse, Mercy Corps, Siemens, Resolve Marine, Water Mission, International Medical Corp, Operators without Borders, and ADRA. As salinity levels decrease naturally through rainfall and new wells come on line, we look forward to restoring a potable water supply through the island of Grand Bahama in the near future. We thank everyone in the community for their patience and understanding. We are on the right path to bringing our water back to its erstwhile pristineness.”
Release: Grand Bahama Port Authority
Photo Caption: “Dr. Yakov Livshitz Senior member of the Hydrological Service of Israel visited Grand Bahama and toured our well fields with the GB Utility Team to gauge salinity levels and the pace of aquifer recovery. His initial findings were very encouraging.” (Pictured from left: Remington Wilchcombe, Utility Engineering Manager and Dr. Yakov Livshitz)
PM: Project delivers on promise and invests in youth, sports and national development
GRAND BAHAMA, The Bahamas — Calling it the fulfillment of a major commitment to the island, Prime Minister Philip Davis led the official groundbreaking for the Grand Bahama Aquatic Centre, a facility the government says will transform sports development and create new opportunities for young athletes.
Speaking at the Grand Bahama Sports Complex on February 12, the Prime Minister said the project represents more than bricks and mortar
— it is an investment in people, national pride and long-term economic activity. The planned complex will feature a modern 50-metre competition pool, designed to meet international standards for training and regional and global swim meets. Davis said the facility will give Bahamian swimmers a home capable of producing world-class performance while also providing a space for community recreation, learn-to-swim programmes and water safety training.
He noted that Grand Bahama has long produced outstanding athletes despite limited infrastructure and said the new centre is intended to correct that imbalance, positioning the island as a hub for aquatic sports and sports tourism.
The Prime Minister also linked the development to the broader national recovery and revitalisation of Grand Bahama, describing the project as part of a strategy to expand opportunities for young people, create jobs during construction and stimulate activity for small businesses once operational.
The Aquatic Centre, he said, stands as proof that promises made to Grand Bahama are being delivered.
The project is expected to support athlete development, attract competitions, and provide a safe, modern environment for residents to access swimming and water-based programmes for generations to come.
Angle by Deandrea Hamilton. Built with ChatGPT (AI). Magnetic Media — CAPTURING LIFE.
The Bahamas, February 15, 2026 – For the better part of three years, Bahamians have been told that major Afreximbank financing would help transform access to capital, rebuild infrastructure and unlock economic growth across the islands. The headline figures are large. The signing ceremonies are high profile. The language is ambitious. What remains far harder to see is the measurable impact in the daily lives of the people those announcements are meant to serve.
The Government’s push to secure up to $100 million from Afreximbank for roughly 200 miles of Family Island roads dates back to 2025. In
its February 11 disclosure, the bank outlined a receivables-discounting facility — a structure that allows a contractor to be paid early once work is completed, certified and invoiced, with the Government settling the bill later. It is not cash placed into the economy upfront. It does not, by itself, build a single mile of road. Every dollar depends on work first being delivered and approved.
The wider framework has been described as support for “climate-resilient and trade-enhancing infrastructure,” a phrase that, in practical terms, should mean projects that lower the cost of doing business, move people and goods faster, and keep the economy functioning. But for communities, that promise becomes real only when the projects are named, the standards are defined and a clear timeline is given for when work will begin — and when it will be finished.
Bahamians have seen this moment before.
In 2023, a $30 million Afreximbank facility for the Bahamas Development Bank was hailed as a breakthrough that would expand access to financing for local enterprise. It worked in one immediate and measurable way: it encouraged businesses to apply. Established, revenue-generating Bahamian companies responded to the call, prepared plans, and entered a process they believed had been capitalised to support growth. The unanswered question is how much of that capital has reached the private sector in a form that allowed those businesses to expand, hire and generate new economic activity.
Because development is not measured in the size of announcements.
It is measured in loans disbursed, projects completed and businesses expanded.
The pattern is becoming difficult to ignore. In June 2024, when Afreximbank held its inaugural Caribbean Annual Meetings in Nassau,
Grand Bahama was presented as the future home of an Afro-Caribbean marketplace said to carry tens of millions of dollars in investment. What was confirmed at that stage was a $1.86 million project-preparation facility — funding for studies and planning to make the development bankable, not construction financing. The larger build-out remains dependent on additional approvals, land acquisition and further capital.
This distinction — between financing announced and financing that produces visible, measurable outcomes — is now at the centre of the national conversation.
Because while the numbers grow larger on paper, entrepreneurs still describe access to capital as out of reach, and communities across the Family Islands are still waiting to see where the work will start.
And in an economy where stalled growth translates into lost opportunity, rising frustration and real social consequences, the gap between promise and delivery is no longer a communications issue.
It is an inability to convert announcements into outcomes.
Angle by Deandrea Hamilton. Built with ChatGPT (AI). Magnetic Media — CAPTURING LIFE.
A hardline strategy that reduced murders, gunfire, and collateral deaths
The Bahamas, February 8, 2026 – What happens when police stop routinely granting bail to high-risk suspects and aggressively execute outstanding warrants? In The Bahamas, the answer in 2025 was fewer murders, fewer gunshots, and safer communities.
The Royal Bahamas Police Force arrested 4,337 individuals on outstanding warrants last year, ensuring suspects were brought directly before the courts instead of being released back onto the streets. At the same time, police significantly curtailed the use of police bail for high-risk and repeat offenders, particularly those already entangled in violent disputes.
Police Commissioner Shanta Knowles said the shift was informed by hard lessons from previous years. Intelligence reviews showed that
many homicide victims were not random targets, but men already wanted by law enforcement and — critically — by other criminals. When released on bail, those individuals often became targets themselves, triggering retaliatory shootings that spilled into neighbourhoods, roadways and public spaces.
By keeping high-risk suspects in custody pending court appearances, police say they disrupted that cycle — removing both potential offenders and potential victims from the streets.
The impact was stark. Murders declined by 31 percent in 2025, falling from 120 in 2024 to 83, the largest percentage decrease in homicides since national tracking began in 1963 and the lowest murder count in nearly two decades.
Police leaders say the strategy also reduced the collateral damage that had increasingly alarmed communities. Innocent residents had been caught in “sprays of gunfire” as targeted attacks unfolded in residential areas, at traffic stops, and in public settings.
Gun-violence indicators reflected the change. Gunshot reports fell by 35 percent, while incidents detected by ShotSpotter technology declined by 29 percent, confirming that fewer shots were being fired across the country.
“Gunshots ringing out and cutting through our peaceful paradise were down remarkably,” Commissioner Knowles said, attributing the improvement to decisive enforcement, tighter bail practices, and sustained pressure on offenders.
Police also intensified enforcement against breach of bail conditions, charging and detaining more suspects than in any previous reporting period. Officers say the approach removed the opportunity for repeat offending while matters were before the courts.
Police leadership said the results go beyond statistics. By limiting bail for high-risk suspects and executing warrants at scale, the strategy saved lives, protected bystanders, and restored confidence in public safety.
In 2025, fewer people were hunted, fewer bullets were fired, and fewer families were left grieving — a shift police say was no accident, but the result of deliberate, hardline choices.
Angle by Deandrea Hamilton. Built with ChatGPT (AI). Magnetic Media — CAPTURING LIFE.
