‘Plan B’: BWA to relay pipe at Cattlewash breach

Faced with mounting difficulties caused by unstable soil, the Barbados Water Authority (BWA) on Monday started work on an alternative plan to work around a 10-inch burst main at Cattlewash St Joseph.

The main burst last Monday, disrupting water supply to several communities in the parish and St Andrew.

The BWA has devised a new plan which will see crews relaying about 650 metres of the main, Director of Engineering Charles Leslie said following a site visit.

Engineers examined “how and where we will do the replacement and how we will replace the culverts and how the entire section of that main will be laid”, he said.

“The pipe will be relayed at a much more shallow depth, three to four feet in depth. We are anticipating we can get along with the job at a much faster pace,” Leslie said without giving a timeline of when the job will be completed.

Frustrated residents in various communities, including Belleplaine and Chalky Mount, who have been anxious for a fix have been urging BWA tankers to deliver water on a more consistent basis. (SD)