Heavy rainfall will not mean an automatic flowing of the tap. In fact, it could initially lead to dry taps.
Supervisor of works at the Bowmanston Pumping Station, Edwin Ottley, said that there are a number of reasons the Barbados Water Authority may have to shut off their pumps.
During a tour of the pumping station on Wednesday, students of the St Philip Primary School on Wednesday heard from BWA marketing officer Yvette Harris-Griffith how too heavy rainfall often brought mud with it and in order to stop mud from entering the reservoir, the pumps had to be shut off.
Ottley then elaborated: “A couple years ago Pool Plantation started levelling off their bushy areas. They used to have khus-khus grass which would catch the mud but now it all runs off once the rainfall is very heavy.
“We have equipment which detects the level of mud in the water so if that is too high we shut off the pumps to allow it to settle and that could take a few hours,” he said. (CA)
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