Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — The American Samoa Power Authority (ASPA) is looking at installing cameras at the water tank site at Blunts Point in Gataivai, after the water supply was contaminated on Nov. 29th by unknown school kids.

ASPA's Environmental Division manager, William Spitzenberg told Samoa News yesterday that the matter was reported to police and the culprits are yet to be identified.

"It is suspected that the kids went swimming in there," he said.

When asked if they had any video recordings of last month's break-in, Spitzenberg replied, "No, there are no cameras up there and perhaps we need to look at securing funds for that purpose."

According to Spitzenberg, on Nov. 29th, rangers from the National Park Service (NPS) notified ASPA that some teens were spotted climbing out of the one-million-gallon water tank that morning.

"They broke all three locks," Spitezenberg said. The way up to the water tank is secure — or so ASPA thought. There is a chain-locked fence that leads to a locked gate which grants access to a ladder. The ladder leads up to a hatch, which is also locked.

"It seems that the kids broke all three locks, all the way up to the hatch, which they then opened… we suspect they were swimming in the 30-ft deep tank," Spitzenberg said.

He said that since the water had been contaminated, the tank — which was nearly full — had to be drained, refilled, disinfected, drained again, and then refilled.

Altogether, Spitzenberg estimates that the associated costs to refill and drain the tank twice, in addition to the manpower, the materials, and equipment, cost ASPA about $20,000.

"Just the water alone cost $10,000 to refill the tank twice — then waste it," he said.

Immediately after they were notified, ASPA had no choice but to lock the valve and stop the water supply from entering the system. This resulted in numerous trouble calls from people reporting low water pressure.

Spitzenberg said the entire process took about a week to fix.

"This is a critical tank for us, because it services the area from Tafuna to the canneries; it helps us sustain pressure in the system."

ASPA did issue a public notice advising the public that ASPA operates under the US Safe Drinking Water Act. This means it is a federal crime to tamper or even make a threat to tamper with a public drinking water system or facility, and the penalties are very stiff — jail time for a maximum 20 years and/ or fines of up to $1 million.

"Hopefully parents can help out by keeping an eye on their kids and informing them of the consequences of tampering with the water supply," Spitzenberg said.