Residents of Ellerton and Walkers in St George, and Lodge Terrace, St Michael, say things are looking “brown” so far for the Christmas season when it comes to their water supply.
The taps are either dry, running low or spewing out discoloured water.
In Lodge Terrace, Sophia Edwards told the DAILY NATION recently that low water pressure had been plaguing the community “for a long time”, but she and her family were doing their best to cope.
“It’s really low during the early morning, then it picks up a bit around midday, then it goes back down. It’s not ideal, but it’s not putting me out terribly. For me, my problem is getting a comfortable bath, but the four of us are managing,” she said.
Ralph Johnson said he used buckets to capture rainwater for his garden and to flush his toilet.
“This has been going on for over a week now, and it’s tough because you can’t do a lot of things you want to do. It’s restricting my Christmas cleaning. The washing machine and toilet takes long to fill so I collect rainwater in buckets to fill the toilet and for my garden, but you can’t use that water to wash clothes, cook or drink,” he said.
Sandie Worrell said she collected as much water as possible when it was flowing, so she was still able to cook, bathe and wash, albeit not as comfortably as she would like. She speculated there was an issue with the reservoir serving the community.
In Ellerton, residents lamented that their water woes were ongoing for the past two weeks, and they had seen a water truck only twice in that period.
Don Springer said many people in the neighbourhood were struggling to cope as the water was either brown after rainfall or did not flow at all.
“I haven’t heard what the problem is, but water should not be a problem unless you live in a desert. We got water [in Barbados] but they (the authorities) are not doing the right things,” he charged.
Springer said he collected rainwater for flushing his toilet and stocked up as much as he could during the brief times clean water flowed from his tap. He was coming from the home of a disabled elderly woman, who requested anonymity, but complained of hardship after returning from church and having to cook using stored water.
Springer said the woman had two sons who helped her collect water, but they could not always be there, so he pitched in when he could.
Another resident, who declined to be identified, described the situation as “real disgusting”, especially for a woman.
“A water truck came on December 5 and the next time I saw one was last night (Saturday). I have to buy bottled water because when the water comes, it’s brown. You cannot drink it or wash with it. You have to let it run for a while to clear up, but the water comes on early in the morning and then it’s gone a few hours later,” she said.
The frustrated woman said she had her elderly mother and pets to take care of, and it was expensive to keep buying water and cooked food.
“Christmas around the corner and I don’t know if we will have to eat out or how I will wash and clean. Something needs to be done.”
In Walkers, a householder said she had to either buy water or rely on friends.
“The brown water is terrible. Every time it rains too much, it’s brown water for three or four days. You don’t know what’s in it; you can’t use it. Water is a basic need and it should be a high priority to supply water to all of the residents in a country,” she complained.
Attempts to get a response from Barbados Water Authority officials were unsuccessful. However, a post on its Instagram page indicated the authority was investigating low water pressure in St Michael – Eden Lodge and Lodge Crescent – and in parts of St George – The Mount, Thorpes Cottage and The Glebe – with water tankers dispatched to assist.
In the comments section, upset residents from Ellerton and Brighton complained about the lack of water.
