No water, but who cares?
For a while now the authorities knew that water was very, very scarce in some St Thomas districts. A reservoir is empty. Yet for the past week or more the precious commodity has literally been pouring
from two showers at the changing facilities at Worthing Beach, Christ Church.
The authorities seem not to care. Why? They have water home at them, while others are crying out for water.– SHIRLEY MEDFORD
Source: Nation News
BU wish to thank all those who have been submitting emails concerning other inequities at the Barbados Water Authority (BWA). We have tried to substantiate as many of the issues as we can and those which are 50:50 we have exercised good judgment in what has been published. To say that we have been amazed at the “goings-on” at the BWA would be understating the issue. Let us all remember that this is the same BWA which perennially will ask the people of Barbados to conserve water, however an IADB Report can confirm that 50% of the country’s water is being leaked from a rusty pipe network or unmetered consumption.
“Despite the near-universal coverage of the public water system, about half of all water production is classified as “unaccounted for,” meaning that it is lost through leakage of aging pipes and other defective equipment, or through unmetered consumption”
There is obviously a relationship between our high standard of living and the increase in the use of water. There is also the cruise ship industry which Barbados is required to supply with water. Barbadians expect that our water management must be led by an efficient BWA which must lead the charge to find creative solutions to sustain the water supply of Barbados. It concerns BU that in 2004 when the Sandy Lane Hotel spent 10 million to build a desalination plant to cater to its golf courses, they indicated that they had the capacity to supply the needs of the hotel, the BWA refused their request to disconnect from the public supply of water.
BU does not understand the logic in the BWA decision.
“Michael Davern, Sandy Lane general manager, says it would have been cheaper for the hotel complex to buy all of its water from the Water Authority, but “[the authority] could not guarantee an uninterrupted supply, and we needed to be assured of supply to irrigate the golf course.” Golf courses need daily irrigation year around, he says, so it made sense to build a desalination plant to protect an overall investment of around $500 million.
Davern added that it would also be economical for Sandy Lane to produce the hotel’s drinking water from the desalination plant, as the additional cost of making the irrigation water fit for human consumption would have been minimal. But the government requires that the hotel purchase all potable water from the Water Authority. “That makes me wonder whether there really is a water crisis,” says Davern”
BU is not happy with the stone-aged management approach which is being used to manage this important mineral resource. All Barbadians should sit-up and take note.
In closing BU wishes to ask the General Manager of the BWA the following questions:
- Why is it that a “woman” who worked on a project and was assigned the same tasks as others was the only person paid a $900.00 per month allowance?
- Why was Stephen Lindo transferred after an investigation into the building of reservoirs and his house?
- What is the status of the investigation into Charlie Marville, Project Manager of the Bowmanstan project?
- What is BWA’s policy regarding a senior Board Member having a relationship with a senior staff member?
BU expect answers to our questions!
Related Story: When Water Turned To Wine~Part 1
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