Clearer water but poor roads frustrate St Lucy folk

Water quality and pressure have improved for some residents in Checker Hall and Six Men’s, St Lucy, but complaints about poor roads leading to Pie Corner remain unresolved.

Last week, during a tour of the Barbados Water Authority’s (BWA) Alleynedale facility, officials assured residents that the discoloured water was safe to drink and met World Health Organisation (WHO) standards.

Water quality and pressure have improved for some residents in Checker Hall and Six Men’s, St Lucy, but complaints about poor roads leading to Pie Corner remain unresolved. (Photo credit: Shamar Blunt / Barbados TODAY)

BWA Manager of Water Resources Alex Ifill said the situation had improved significantly, with the authority using a two-pronged approach to tackle the discolouration.

During a visit to Checker Hall on Monday, residents confirmed to Barbados TODAY that they were seeing clearer water and better pressure, although some occasional problems remained.

Valerie Husbands said the improvement had made a major difference to her household.
“You see a little improvement, but some days, for a few hours sometimes, it may have come a little brown, but not like before. It’s good now because we’re getting plenty of water right now.

“I can wash clothes now. We couldn’t wash clothes before. The last two months right here it come clear so we can wash.”

Michael Husbands also reported an improvement, saying the water was now clear and pressure had returned to a more acceptable level: “Some days it’d be a little off…like with the smell a little. I ain’t got no filter or anything and it’s clear. The pressure is pretty good too, because before the water pressure was real low, you know, and the quality of the water was like brown.

Scenes from Pie Corner (Photo credit: Shamar Blunt / Barbados TODAY)

“There’s one or two areas that I still hear people complain. That’s a little minority though.”

But for Roger Feliciano, the water improvement has done little to ease frustration with the roads.

“The water from time to time got a little colour sometimes, but I just use it because you can’t do no better, you understand.

The trucks don’t come around regularly and that kind of stuff.

“However, the roads are awful. The roads are awful straight up to Pie Corner.”

Feliciano said sections of the road had been dug up by Ministry of Transport and Works (MTW) crews and left unfinished, creating a hazard for motorists.

“What I find is that MTW men dug out about five to six inches of the road straight across the road, they don’t put the cones to show you that they dug out anything, and they have not refilled them or anything like it… didn’t patch them or anything like it.”
“Sometimes you are driving in and you forget and [drop] into a hole. The roads in Pie Corner are terrible.”