Cabinet recently approved a submission from the Barbados Water Authority (BWA) to amend its policy regarding the application for connection to its water supply.
Applicants who are not landowners may now apply for a water connection by making a payment of half the connection fee, where land is not in an area specifically prohibited from residential development, such as Zone 1.
The previous policy stated that anyone who is not the title holder to the land for which the supply is being sought, or who could not provide a letter of consent for the connection from the title holder, would be unable to receive a connection to the BWA’s water supply.
The rationale for the amendment is to ensure Barbados’ compliance with the treaty under the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Comment Number 15, which speaks to the ‘right to water’, of which Barbados is a signatory, as well as to ensure the continued safe provision of Barbados’ water distribution system and supply.
The deposit and application for connection is subject to conditions that seek to protect the BWA and land owners.
Some of these conditions are: the arrears must not exceed the deposit; any connection made by the BWA would be entirely without prejudice to the rights of the owners of the land; and landowners are not disadvantaged in the process. Owners of the land may have the opportunity to object to the installation.
According to Minister of Energy and Water Resources, Wilfred Abrahams, “anybody now can apply for and be granted a water service once they are not in a restricted area”.
He announced the change to the policy after the commissioning of a 381kw solar photovoltaic system at the Grantley Adams International Airport’s Engineering Department facilities on Wednesday.
He also disclosed that illegal water connections accounted for a significant portion of the BWA’s non-revenue water.
“We have about 40 to 60 per cent of our water that we can’t account for, and while a significant amount is due to breakages in the system, a large amount is also as a result of illegal connections,” Abrahams said.
The Minister stressed that the illegal connections could pose a risk to those who are connected as well as to the country’s entire water supply because several households may be serviced by one connection.
Abrahams said there was no reason now why anyone should have illegal connections, and going forward the BWA would be cracking down on this practice, including enlisting the help of the Royal Barbados Police Force. (BGIS/SAT)
