Barbados Today

Life is returning to normal on the south coast for residents, business owners and visitors, even though many are holding their breath that the awful stench of raw sewage the plagued them for several weeks is gone for good.

The busy tourist belt had been affected by runoff from the faulty South Coast Sewerage Project, causing an uproar both locally and on social media, with some visitors hinting at a change of heart about plans to visit Barbados.

However, the Barbados Water Authority (BWA) appears to have found a temporary solution by intensifying the flushing of the sewer network and reinforcing faulty manholes with asphalt, much to the relief of Raymond Muster, whose property in Worthing, Christ Church had been among those affected by the raw sewage.

“[The] Barbados Water Authority has been here three times a week checking to make sure everything is OK and that we aren’t having any problems. So they have been really trying to ease the problem, so kudos to them for that,” Muster said.

Still, Muster is nervous that the problem could erupt again without notice, particularly since a canal nearby has not yet been cleared.

“There was a town hall meeting the Tuesday, and the Wednesday they sent the truck to rectify the issue. So Wednesday would have been two weeks we haven’t had the problem. But there is still a problem; they haven’t come and cleared the canal as yet as they promised. The problem has not been fixed. For some reason it has died down. I don’t understand it,” he said.

Next door, Manager of Gentle Breeze Rental Apartments Emily Long said things had returned to normal, even if just for the time being.

Gentle Breeze had reported cancellations due to the sewage mess.

“From the time they [BWA] came we haven’t had any problems. They said it should be good but they cannot assure us it won’t happen again because they haven’t fixed the problem,” Long explained.

However, she said guests had started to return to the apartments and were enjoying themselves.

“The scent is OK. We don’t smell it anymore so everything is OK for now. Fingers crossed it remains that way. Guests have started to come back now. It’s not full but we have at least four rooms occupied,” Long said.

Over on Worthing Beach, visitors were having a good time, lounging on the beach and playing in the water.

A beach vendor who identified himself only as Roger said he was glad things were back to normal.

“Things look pretty alright now. The tourists are welcome to come join us. Everything is good, everyone is having a good time, there is no scent. Very unfortunate it had to go that way but we are glad things are back to normal now. A lot of tourists have started to come back over the last few weeks. They love this country so they will always come back,” he said.