WE REALLY do not like having to return to this matter for the second time in under a week, particularly since we do not want to give the impression we are targeting the Barbados Water Authority (BWA), but return we must.
And, frankly, it would take one hell of an explanation from the BWA to convince us that they are doing all they can to keep the suffering of rural residents to a minimum as they go for days without running water. It is as if the authority does not truly appreciate the challenges these residents face.
In fairness to the BWA, periodic water outages in rural Barbados, particularly in St Joseph, St Andrew, St Thomas and other parts of the Scotland District, are as old as the hills. Residents are very familiar with burst mains caused by old and corroded pipes or breaks caused by shifting clay soil.
Additionally, low water pressure or complete outages have traditionally coincided with the operation of the Andrews Sugar Factory in St Joseph — but it has been a few years since Andrews has ceased grinding, so outages during the sugar harvest should be a thing of the past.
What’s absolutely unacceptable is no running water for several days, as St Joseph residents have been complaining about for more than a week, compounded by an absence of water in the community tanks set up by the BWA itself and the very inefficient deployment of water tankers.
Quite frankly, the excuses offered by the management of the BWA are just plain hollow and it appears that in many instances they themselves just don’t know why there is no running water in some districts. We accept that the BWA is engaged in a vigorous programme of mains replacement, but at times it appears the agency is just using this as a convenient crutch.
It is time for the BWA to get its house in order. This level of inefficiency is not synonymous with the agency, which for decades has stood out as a public utility company with a reputation envied by others across the region. And as we have said before, while we can’t hold the current management accountable for the failure of policymakers to provide the financial wherewithal that would have allowed systematic infrastructural replacement and improvement, it cannot shift the blame for not effectively handling the current crisis — for that’s what it is.
We also believe that it is also time for the minister with responsibility for Water Resource Management, Dr David Estwick, to speak on this matter. The thousands of Barbadians most impacted by these constant and prolonged water outages must feel less than valued when BWA officials just weeks ago moved into and took delight in showing off their plush new offices while the services they direct from those same offices are hardly worth celebrating.
We believe the BWA can do considerably better. If they can’t stop the outages at this stage, they can certainly improve the services of water tankers to the affected residents. They can do a better job of telling residents why the water is off and providing realistic estimates of when it will start running again.
Again, we suggest it is time for those in charge to offer the public full disclosure on the state of the mains replacement programme, how much longer it will continue, and, most importantly, where there will continue to be challenges after this work is done.
The people of Barbados deserve no less.