The facilities manager of the West End Development Company (Wedco) has moved to quash rumours that a major leak in a Dockyard storage tank led to the loss of close to 200,000 gallons of water.

But speaking to yesterday, Andrew Dias was prepared to confirm the leak?s existence ? although he was quick to stress that only around 15,000 gallons escaped from the faulty tank in question.

This ?relatively minor? mishap according to Mr. Dias, occurred soon after the arrival of the international motor tanker on Saturday, July 23 ? the latter a Danish vessel registered in Singapore which was making her maiden voyage to the Island together with 2.5 million gallons of fresh water to help alleviate the effects of the prolonged drought.

But when the water began to be pumped into the near-empty Victualling Yard tank near Pirate?s Landing, Wedco staff began to notice a steady stream of water seeping from one of the tank?s walls.

As soon as the leak was discovered, Mr. Dias said, the water was diverted to another of the tank?s three sections, while repairs have subsequently been carried out to correct the problem.

Wedco is responsible for eight water tanks in total, Mr. Dias explained, and the ?occasional small leak? is par for the course ? particularly when dealing with older structures.

?All this talk about hundreds of thousands of gallons of water being lost is just completely untrue,? Mr. Dias said.

?Leaks such as the one we had occur in Bermuda on an almost weekly basis. They are a fact of life, and when they occur the approach is to deal with it as soon as physically possible and then move on.?

Asked whether Wedco was doing enough to ensure its tanks were in good working order, Mr. Dias said that upgrading tanks is a constantly ongoing and established practice, while also pointing to the recent maintenance work completed on the 700,000 gallon Sail Off tank behind Dockyard?s clock tower which has rendered it ?virtually brand new?.

?I?d like to make clear once again that we are on top of the situation and that the loss of approximately 15,000 gallons really is nothing to get too excited about,? he said.

?Tanks are man-made things which all go wrong from time to time but we have a system in place which deals effectively with problems when they arise.?