BWA stepping up leaks monitoring

The Barbados Water Authority (BWA) will soon be introducing district metres on several of its mains around the island, in order to help reduce the amount of water being lost to leaks.

This announcement was made by Parliamentary Secretary with Responsibility for Water Resources, Dr. Romel Springer, as he spoke on Thursday during the Budget debate in the House of Assembly.

Dr Springer noted that non-revenue water (NRW) was still a critical area of concern for the BWA, and given the high annual water loss due to leaks across the island’s network, district metres were seen as another way to help curb the flow.

“If we metre the water going into the district and if we check the metres of the water that are being used by the customers, and let’s say for example 300 cubic metres is being pumped in, but when we check all of the metres, only 150 cubic metres were recorded being used by the residents, then we know that we are losing 150 cubic metres water that is going to the ground,” he explained.

Meanwhile, Dr Springer, who is also the Member of Parliament for St Andrew also brought a welcomed update for residents of White Hill. He said that construction of the promised new road for the rural community has officially begun. A large section of the road collapsed back in November of 2014 under pressure from heavy rainfall .

“It has been almost nine years, on the 21st and the 22nd of November 2014 when we had steady rain, whole day and all through the night, and a large section of the road that connects Hillaby to White Hill broke away and went down through the gully, separating that community.

“I am here to tell you that with a certain degree of happiness in my heart, that we have finally started the reconstruction of the road in White Hill. Work has started,” he said. (SB)