WAPA Files Motion to Dismiss Suit Over Lead in St. Croix Water

The V.I. Water and Power Authority has filed a motion to dismiss a class action lawsuit over high levels of lead and copper detected last year in St. Croix’s potable water system, while the plaintiffs have filed an amended complaint, adding Seven Seas Water Corporation (USVI) as a defendant.

The 48-page amended suit, first filed in V.I. Superior Court in November, alleges WAPA, Seven Seas Water Solutions USA LLC, and now Seven Seas Water Corporation (USVI) — the company that makes St. Croix’s potable water through reverse osmosis — provided residents with unsafe water, failed to properly monitor the water the utility was providing and failed to timely warn of the unsafe condition of the water, which resulted in damage to the people of the island. The 19 plaintiffs named in the suit are represented by St. Croix attorney Lee Rohn, who has said they could eventually number in the thousands.

Among the plaintiffs’ complaints are ongoing skin irritation, stomach pain, fatigue, memory issues, nausea, joint pain, headaches and hair loss, as well as property damage from the rust-colored water that stains everything from clothes to appliances, the suit alleges.

It claims negligence, gross negligence, trespass, public nuisance, and private nuisance because the contaminated water has damaged plaintiffs’ properties and caused personal injuries, and seeks to compel medical monitoring because they have been physically impacted by the contamination.