Three public schools in Charlotte Amalie closed Wednesday after a construction accident ruptured a critical water main serving the area, affecting roughly 2,500 households and businesses across St. Thomas.
Haugland construction company struck a 20-inch water main, prompting the V.I. Water and Power Authority to declare the service interruption. The Education Department responded by shuttering Ulla Muller Elementary, Lockhart K-8, and Charlotte Amalie High School, noting it would track WAPA's progress and announce reopening dates as conditions improved.
The water crisis coincided with an ongoing power emergency. Since Friday, WAPA has been cycling blackouts through the St. Thomas and St. John service area because the Randolph Harley Power Plant is running below capacity.
WAPA spokeswoman Shanell Spencer attributed the outages to insufficient operational generators. The Wartsila 7 unit was in repair and slated to resume operation by Friday, she said in a statement. Temporary cuts were scheduled between 3 p.m. and 11 p.m. daily, though other Wartsila units and Unit 27 remained active, running on propane and diesel with adequate fuel reserves.
On Wednesday at 12:30 p.m., St. Croix experienced a complete power loss. WAPA restored electricity to all feeders by 1:15 p.m. but did not explain what caused the outage.
Separately, a leak in a water main on St. Croix disrupted service to La Grande Princesse and Estate St. John. Repair crews were mobilised to restore supply.
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