Burst main disrupts schools and businesses

A widespread water outage caused by a ruptured main in St Michael forced the closure of schools and businesses in parts of that parish as well as Christ Church on Thursday, prompting calls for more resilient public infrastructure, particularly in the education sector.

Hundreds of students were sent home, including from Graydon Sealy Secondary School and the Seventh-day Adventist School, while the Barbados Water Authority (BWA) rushed to repair the burst large-diameter transmission main at Odessa McClean Drive, My Lord’s Hill.

The rupture, which affected water distribution from the Belle pumping station to the Grandview and Britton’s Hill reservoirs, resulted in low water pressure or outages in areas such as Rendezvous, Rockley, Upper Carters Gap, Hastings, Maxwell, Belleville, Britton’s Hill, Bayland, and parts of Bridgetown.

Speaking at the site, Senior Superintendent of Works at the BWA, Gregory Thompson, explained that the issue was first reported on Wednesday night to the utility’s customer service department. Upon investigation, the team discovered a rupture on a large-diameter transmission main.

“This is a large transmission main which takes water from the Belle pumping station over the Grandview and the Britton’s Hill reservoirs,” he explained.

Thompson explained that the damaged pipe was in close proximity to underground services belonging to the Barbados Light & Power Company and the National Petroleum Corporation, complicating excavation efforts.

“We reached out to their personnel and they came on location to identify where their services lay in relation to our main,” he said. 

On Thursday evening, the BWA team was working to remove the damaged section of the main and install a replacement. Thompson explained that the process was time-consuming due to the hard rock bedding beneath the pipe.

In a statement later on Thursday, the BWA said it had completed the emergency repairs. 

“Pumping has resumed and personnel are checking the distribution network to verify flows and pressures. It may take some time for pressures in the entire system to return to normal,” it said. “The water supply for affected residents and businesses in parts of St Michael and Christ Church districts is expected to return to normal gradually over the next 12-24 hours. Water tankers will continue to assist residents of any affected areas in the interim.”

Earlier, to support schools and ensure the continuation of Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) exams, BWA deployed water tankers to affected institutions.

However, the outage renewed calls from education stakeholders for urgent upgrades to school infrastructure as part of the national education transformation strategy.

Paula-Ann Moore, spokesperson for the Group of Concerned Parents, acknowledged the efforts of BWA frontline workers but stressed the need for proactive infrastructure investment.

“This situation puts the spotlight on the infrastructure resilience component of education transformation,” Moore said. “In this era of water scarcity and climate change, it should be a minimum requirement that all schools have a water tank with potable water. In 2025, school closures due to water outages should be at a minimum.”

She added that while CXC students at affected schools were advised to attend their exams with their own drinking water, and the BWA prioritised delivering water to these specific locations, many parents were left scrambling to collect younger children when schools without water were forced to close. 

“Imagine the lost productivity of parents having to collect their children and often make alternative childcare arrangements in these situations,” she noted.

Rudy Lovell, president of the Barbados Union of Teachers, echoed her concerns, listing several schools repeatedly affected by outages. 

“This is concerning at this point in time, especially coming into the hurricane season,” he said. “We expect some resilience in terms of the buildings, given the fact that many of these buildings are hurricane shelters. You would want to have the water tanks and the water facilities functioning to facilitate any shut-off of the main Barbados Water Authority supply.”

Despite the challenges, Lovell welcomed the ministry’s response: “The union is happy that the Ministry of Education took the initiative to close schools to prevent what could have been a disaster, given the fact that there was no water in the schools.”

Meanwhile, in a separate update on water service issues, Thompson reported that upgrade work at the Belle Pumping Station is near completion.

“The work at the Belle is basically complete and they’re actually doing some flushing and sterilisation of those new sections of main. Once that is done, then the water will be returning to those areas that were affected,” he said.

The BWA has also advised that its customer service hotline is currently experiencing technical difficulties. Customers are therefore asked to use the following mobile numbers to report any issues: 826-7746 and 826-7747. 

(SB/SZB)