“Remove the taint from the water in St Lucy.”
That was the cry from Alvin Toppin, the Democratic Labour Party’s (DLP) prospective candidate for St Lucy, who recently joined in the call for St Lucy residents to get a rebate on their water bills until the vexing brown water issue is resolved.
When a DAILY NATION team visited the rural northern parish, the cries from many householders were the same – they seldom use water from their taps, yet their monthly bills do not reflect any reduction in usage or payments.
Toppin said that the residents were “angry and frustrated” because there was no communication from Government as to when the issue would be resolved.
“As far as the residents are concerned, it’s been going on far too long. They’re also frustrated because, imagine having to pay a water bill for a service that you do not receive. Imagine having to purchase bottled water for drinking purposes, purchasing bottled water to cook. They can’t buy white clothes. Toilets are being discoloured,” he said.
“The situation is particularly distressing for the elderly, pensioners, and households currently under the cost-of-living crunch. They simply cannot afford to purchase bottled water for drinking, for cooking. And the elderly cannot afford to be lugging from their home to the community tanks and back with buckets or bottles of water.”
Toppin recommended that the residents not be billed or that they be given a credit on their bills until the water issue was rectified.
“All people are talking about is taint. I will say to the Government of Barbados, I will say to the Barbados Water Authority (BWA), the constituents of the good parish of St Lucy, they don’t want money. All they want is the taint removed from the discoloured water.”
Last Wednesday, the BWA and the Ministry of Health and Wellness advised residents of St Lucy to boil water from their taps until further testing of water was completed.
In a press release, they said routine post-flood testing in various parts of the parish has shown an increased presence of brown water, adding that the increased discolouration has prompted the implementation of this precautionary measure.
“The BWA has been involved in a vigorous programme of mains replacement in the parish. It is, therefore, fully aware of the probability of infiltration of flood water into the distribution system. As a result, the BWA has enhanced chlorination. Due to this increased use of chlorine, consumers may detect a slight bleach-like taste in the water even after boiling, but there is no reason to be alarmed.”
Lisa Neblett, who has two properties at Checker Hall, St Lucy, agreed with the call for a rebate, pointing out that she does not use tap water, only water from tanks installed on the properties. She pointed out, however, her water bill keeps going up.
“Right now I am paying for everything – the sewage tax – everything,” she cried.
She further charged that added to the high bills, she had also paid thousands of dollars to install filter systems at both properties and was now paying hundreds of dollars every two months to change the filters and clean the water tanks and the solar heater.
Over at Well Road, Pie Corner, St Lucy, Jenene Marshall spoke about the challenges of not having clean water. She said the BWA’s advice to boil water “does not make sense”.
“That does not make sense.
When we boil the water, it does smell horrible. It would more mash up the kettle trying to boil it. You can’t even give the dog that water. The most you can use it for is to wet plants,” she said.
“It is a sad state of affairs and the water bill is still the exact same thing and it should never be. I does have to ask people like my friends who live outside the area to wash my children white shirts for school because you can’t wash clothes in that and I have to buy water to drink and to cook with.”
The sentiment was the same for a woman at Broomefield, St Lucy, who said she only uses tap water to wash dishes sometimes.
“But I am paying the same water bill every month,” she said as she produced a water bill for last month where she paid $157.
“It is very stressful and hectic. I cannot boil water because we don’t use water from the tap at all. I don’t know why they are still sending these bills but there is nothing we can do.”
Another resident sent out an appeal for the BWA to investigate the desalination plant which was opened in 2016 at Hope Road, St Lucy, to pump 800 000 gallons of water into the distribution system. The woman recalled that it was shortly after the plant was opened that she noticed a smell and discolouration of the water.
“When that desalination plant was built, that is when I recognise that the water start to get awful. That is when I noticed the water start to get terrible and it had an awful taste and it was brown.”
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