Several residents in St George’s Bayley Alley community have been suffering from a lack of running water in their homes for decades, forcing them to rely on neighbours or a communal tank to meet their basic needs.
The despondent residents said they were tired of living without access to a reliable water supply and called on authorities to bring much-needed relief to the district.
“Basically, you have to go to someone to get water because a lot of people here don’t have their own water from the Water Authority,” said resident Terry Harewood.
“Every time you need water, you need to go down there to the tank pipe they put in the community . . . you have to go and bring buckets of water to bathe and use. If there is something that can be done to rectify that problem, it would be a great honour for the people in the district.”
Harewood recalled promises made last year by officials who visited the area, indicating that residents would eventually get their own water connection.
But, he said there has been no follow-up or update since then.
“It’s modern times now . . . this is a generation that is going forward, everything should be different . . . How people still ain’t have water?” he questioned.
“Some people have and some don’t and the one tank serves all without water. Sometimes you don’t get your buckets full up because everybody has to get a little,” Harewood said.
Sixty-seven-year-old Errol McCollin told Barbados TODAY that he has been a victim of the Bayley Alley water woes for over twenty years.
He described the daily struggles he and his family face due to the lack of the basic commodity.
“It’s me, my wife, and my daughter who live here and we have to depend on the house down there to get water . . . Truly, I would like some water. I’m a person too, right? I would like some water,” he said.
McCollin’s frustration was evident as he explained the indignity of having to depend on others for something as basic as a bath.
“Every time that you need to bathe or shower, you have to go by my neighbour. Or if I don’t get a bath there I would have to carry up water and bathe,” he lamented.
At almost 70 years old, McCollin said the burden of carrying buckets of water for decades is taking a toll on his health: “Bringing water and whatever thing, that ain’t really good for me. Ain’t good for me at all. So, I would like some water. That’s the honest truth.”
In response to the concerns, the Barbados Water Authority (BWA) said it is working on plans to address the issue through the Bayley Alley sewering project, which will include both the construction of a sewer system and the improvement of the potable water supply in the community.
“The designs, inclusive of the layout for both the water infrastructure and sewer system, are currently being reviewed,’ the BWA shared. “As soon as the review process is complete and the designs are approved, the BWA will provide information on firm start dates for construction, including the installation of the water infrastructure.”
The authority told Barbados TODAY that construction is estimated to start in May.
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