I THINK comedian Lord Zenn aptly captured how most of us feel when we get a bill for awful or no service.
For those of you who haven’t seen his comedic take on the water issue, an exasperated and towel-clad Lord Zenn sits in his dry bathroom in St Joseph waiting on the water to bathe. Instead, in floats a “wata” bill.
He takes up the bill and, with a bemused look, pulls a cutlass from next to him and, still in his bath-ready state, makes his way down the road to the ‘Wata’ authority. There he gently taps on the door with the cutlass. The rest is up to our imagination.
From today you can’t use water as you like in Barbados. If any of you missed it, there were several notices, along with newspaper articles, proclaiming the ban on using water in certain cases.
There will be a chorus of protesters shouting, “But if I can pay for the water I can use it anyhow I like”. I hope that ignorant group is in the minority.
It is not the ability to pay that is the source of the problem. To even suggest that shows lack of a conscience.
Scarcity
It is okay to pay for something when it is in abundance. But when there is a scarcity, no amount of money can convince someone to part with something as precious as water.
Drought conditions have been so severe that coupled with the usual overuse of water, we are now faced with a depleted water source. The first hint was the cries of St Joseph, St Lucy and St Peter residents. But the water levels continue to dip and we are in the dry season.
So to save water, the Barbados Water Authority (BWA) has instituted a prohibition on water use for three months.
Watering gardens, lawns and grounds from the BWA supply is forbidden. And really, people are not ignorant. If all around you is brown land and your garden is lush green, something is wrong. That also speaks to selfishness if the entire island is uniting in ensuring that there is enough water and you embark on an egotistical beautification programme.
The filling or supplying of tanks, ponds, baths and swimming pools is barred. Only dipping tanks for cattle, domestic baths not exceeding a 120-litre capacity and elevated reserve tanks not exceeding 800 litres and connected to the household sewage system are exempted.
For those who liberally use that hose to wash down everything, that is also prohibited. This will especially hurt those vehicle lovers who are obsessed with the machines and want to maintain that show window look every day.
The BWA has determined that the washing of roadways, pavements, paths, garages, out-rooms and vehicles by hose is out. I am supposing that you may be able to maintain clean surroundings but not by using an excessive amount of water.
I can see the ban being a lot of people’s excuse for not exerting themselves over the next three months.
Residents are expected to abide by these new rules until May 31, or they run the risk of a $500 fine which carries an alternative of a month in prison. The police and other authorities have been put on alert.
Watching BWA
But we warn you, BWA: while you are keeping tabs on us, we will be also keeping watch on you. The public has long been complaining about the indifference shown in responding to ruptured pipes.
The newspaper is full of pictures of beautiful and transfixing water spouts high in the air and then their beauty disappears as they fall wastefully into the ground. Or, even more disturbing, the photographs of gallons of precious water gushing without end into the road, leading to a hazard for road users and other health dangers associated with stagnant water.
This newspaper may lack the power to fine or impose jail time, but we have the ability to highlight any shortcomings on the part of the BWA that make it guilty of the same water wastage of which it accused others.
That means there should be a rapid response to reports of burst mains and other such complaints where water is likely to be wasted. Anything less makes the BWA just as culpable as the offenders it is going after.
Antoinette Connell is a News Editor. Email [email protected].