by Mindy Aguon

Guam - The Guam Waterworks Authority is attempting to rectify issues of non-compliance with a stipulated order mandating the agency to provide clean drinking water - from assessing the condition of water storage tanks and installing a chlorination system to making improvements to faulty water meters and making repairs and upgrades to the Ugum Water Treatment Plant.

The feds, however, still have numerous concerns not only with those projects and they, along with GWA, agree that there is still much more work to be done before the agency will be in compliance with federal laws. The feds also took issue with the utility agency's master plan, noting that it fails to take into account the impacts of the projected military buildup and does not provide an adequate blueprint for mid and long-range planning purposes.

The parties are now working to negotiate a partial consent decree that will outline the necessary compliance projects for the next three to five years.