Main a pain for two weeks

Even with the rains coming more frequently and the wells filling up again, Barbadians continue to be concerned about leaking pipes and wastage in this  water-scarce land.An irate caller told the DAILY NATION on Tuesday that residents in Hillaby, St Andrew, had been calling the Barbados Water Authority (BWA) “for two weeks now” to report a burst main that had been spewing gallons upon gallons of water along the road that leads to Mount Hillaby.The woman said they had even taken to putting some duct tape around the broken pipe to stem the flow, but water was still going down the drain.“All that is real water wasting day by day,” she said, adding that the response from a BWA officer when she called in about the leak was less than desirable.Efforts to get a response from the BWA  on the number of leaks reported and those fixed at least for the first quarter of the year have so far been unsuccessful.The other reports this week were:• We have a burst pipe in 16th Avenue, West Terrace Gardens,  St James, for months. You cannot miss it as long as you enter the avenue. – A. Simpson • There is a dripping standpipe located at Bryden’s Road, Brittons Hill, St Michael. (This is the road that the  Seventh-Day Adventist Clinic is located on  that would lead onto Layne’s Road.)– S. HolderMeantime, a Nation team on another assignment spotted an underground leak at the junction of Bannatyne Gardens, Christ Church, last week.      Next week we will be giving an update on some of those leaks we have highlighted, reporting  on whether they have been fixed.Over the past few months Barbados has been experiencing a drought. As a result, the Barbados Water Authority (BWA) has appealed  to Barbadians not to waste water. The BWA itself, however, must also pay attention, since there  are a number of burst pipes throughout the island.We want to get those pipes fixed as quickly as possible, so we propose  to help the BWA by highlighting the wastage. If you see a burst pipe or can tell us where water is being wasted, email bryanwalker@ nationnews.com