Claxton Bay residents get water 2 days after protest

TWO days after protesting, residents of Rosehill Street, Claxton Bay, got running water for the first time in four months.

On Saturday morning, residents held a small protest and called on the Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) for a supply of water.

They had said continually having to purchase truck-borne water, in addition to still having to pay a WASA bill each month, was depleting their finances.

But, they said, the situation was unusual as some areas received water while other didn’t despite having legal water connections from WASA.

Agnes Joseph Small, 57, said, “Sometimes we go to the standpipe in the cemetery to fill our buckets, barrels and tanks. Or even go to Flowerpot Beach to take a bath.”

But soon after this protest was highlighted by the media, residents were contacted by WASA officials and told they would try to get a water supply to the area at least twice a week in the interim.

Most of the residents got water on Monday morning at 2 am and Small said the entire community is relieved.

“They said they are looking into the matter so when everything is rectified maybe we will get back a regular supply.

“I am so relieved that we were able to get back clean water especially with the (covid19) pandemic. A lot of residents are saying, ‘You see what a small protest can do.’ We were small in number but it reached far.”