St David’s residents endure weeks-long water shortage

​Frustration is mounting in the Christ Church community of St David’s, where residents say a water outage lasting more than six weeks has upended daily life, forced households into costly coping measures and raised public health concerns with little clear communication from authorities.

​Locals reported a gruelling daily routine of “scrambling” for water in the early hours of the morning, with many forced to rely on expensive bottled water and sporadic delivery trucks to survive the dry season.

​The crisis, reportedly linked to a burst main, has left homes nearly dry during daylight hours. When the taps do trickle to life, it is often in the dead of night, forcing residents to sacrifice sleep to secure enough water for basic hygiene and chores.

​The residents, who did not want to be identified, shared their experience with Barbados TODAY.

​”It’s been off since early April,” one resident explained, describing the exhausting schedule required just to prepare for the workday. 

“It’d be mostly coming back on at nighttime, so you have to like, get up if you want to go to work, that would catch water. When you come home to cook something now, you go scramble now, to get the little drops start coming out. The situation real stiff, real stiff for real.”

​For others in the neighbourhood, the lack of a reliable supply is more than an inconvenience – it is a threat to their livelihoods and health. One small businessman shared the dire measures he has been forced to take to keep his livestock alive and his household running.

​”I’m affected very badly. This is six weeks now, we haven’t had water,” he stated. “And if it come at night, one o’clock in the morning, we have to full every saucepan. I have chickens; I have to replenish the water as it comes to make sure they do not die. I’m 61 years old. I never ever seen nothing like this yet. Never.”

​The residents alleged a lack of communication from the Barbados Water Authority (BWA) which has only added to the community’s resentment. While they heard rumours of a burst main and a two-week repair window, those deadlines have long since passed without a resolution or an official update.

​Many have stopped trusting the water coming from storage tanks for consumption, adding a financial burden to the physical one.

​”I don’t drink water from the tank [truck borne water provided by BWA]. I buy bottled water,” the resident continued. “We have children and we have to send them to school. We can’t risk drinking water provided by the water tanker. We have to buy water for the children to make tea. Please come and tell us something, say something. It will mean a lot if you all come and tell us something, please.”

​Another resident, rushing to leave, summarised the collective exhaustion of the neighbourhood: “It’s a lot. You got a bucket in the bath to catch water. Last night it ain’t even come on until about three o’clock. That ain’t easy, boy. Not easy.”

​In response, the Barbados Water Authority (BWA) said it was experiencing low water levels at the pumping station supplying the district of St David’s and the surrounding areas.

​The recurrent low levels are resulting in an inability to sustain a consistent water pressure going into the area, thereby causing some residents to be affected by low pressure and intermittent water outages, it said.

The BWA apologised  for the disruption in service to its customers and noted it will continue to assist residents via its water tanker fleet as a temporary measure while work continues to address the issue.

(RR)