The water pressure spiking or surging is a problem on both sides of the island and mostly a problem at night when people are not using it as much. Obviously the pipes can only take so much pressure before they break which leads to water leaks and costs a lot of money because the leaks are sometime in the sandy ground and not noticed right away. I know of people that have had huge water bills because of these leaks. I think I read they had so many water leaks on the French side they had to turn off the water at times until they got the broken pipes under control. Like a Elec surge protector Some properties have water regulators to control the water pressure going through their pipes.