DIFFICULT TO COPE

Residents of the parish of St. John and other rural communities are finding it a bit difficult to cope during the current COVID-19 pandemic, given the persistent water issues with which they are faced.

According to former Government Senator Andre Worrell, who spoke on behalf of himself and others in St. John, it has been over five weeks that there has been no consistent water supply coming from the taps and though the water tankers from the Barbados Water Authority do frequent affected communities, it is at times still difficult to balance basic household chores.

Worrell, in speaking with The Barbados Advocate about the issue, pointed out that St. John communities such as Sherbourne, Wilson Hill, Glebe, Carters, Clifton Hall and other areas, have been affected by a lack of water for prolonged periods of time.

“At Sherbourne, we haven’t had running water for about five weeks. (Soon) it will be six weeks,” Worrell pointed out, noting that of late, there was just a little water coming from the taps.

“It is horrible. Before that, what was happening, we would possibly get water for two hours a day and then it would shut off and then it would be every other day. But from March, we realised that we have been going for weeks without water. The last time that we had a consistent supply was the 24th of March. So that’s how bad the situation is for us,” he noted.

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Worrell outlined the challenges which some residents face, in trying to follow key hygienic practices.

“That is the hard part about it, because with most people, especially those persons who are working on the frontline, if you come home with your clothes, you would like to take them off, put them in the washing machine and get a hot shower. But those are the things that you cannot do in this situation. For a lot of us, you would probably have water inside of the house, but then using a bottle to wash your hands, you have got to shift between hands in terms of getting them washed. Even certain things such as just being able to wash your face properly with some warm water, things like that are difficult,” he said.

Worrell however acknowledged that the water tankers from the Barbados Water Authority have been showing up frequently, which is a great help.

“We have excellent service from the tanks, we don’t have any issue with those. The tanks come into the community most days, from early in the morning until the night. Then we also have the community tanks as well, which are being filled,” he revealed.

He nevertheless maintained the need to have running water through the taps.

“For those of us who wish to wash, it takes four buckets to start a load, so we still need water running through the pipes into our homes. Also for the elderly who have to take a bucket bath, (whilst battling) arthritis and back problems, etc.,” Worrell said.

“Being without something that you are paying for for six weeks or more at a time is difficult, because it is not a situation where we were not paying our water bills. We all paid. It’s just that we were not getting any service, so you don’t know what you are paying for,” Worrell further commented. (RSM)