Barry, Marvin quarrel over 'buckets and barrels'

PUBLIC Utilities Minister Marvin Gonzales and Princes Town MP Barry Padarath on Friday both got hot under the collar as they clashed over a new project for water-supply to rural areas, in the Standing Finance Committee of the House of Representatives. Padarath asked about a $2 million allocation to a National Rainwater Harvesting Programme in the budget's draft estimates for development expenditure, but Gonzales found the question aggravating.

The Princes Town MP said he and fellow MPs Rushton Paray (Mayaro) and Michelle Benjamin (Tableland/Moruga) have tremendous challenges of not getting a water-supply for months on end due to their constituencies' topography and the state of the water lines.

He recalled past promises of a $20 million water-supply project for Tableland/Moruga.

Padarath was concerned that the current $2 million allocation for rainfall harvesting was small, relative to the many intended beneficiaries.

"But also I would like to have an idea whether this is barrels and buckets in front of people's homes to collect water from galvanise, in the twenty-first century."

Gonzales replied, "If the member is seeing a programme – National Rainwater Harvesting – which is something encouraged all over the world, the Caribbean, etcetera, especially as we deal with the impact of climate change and the impact it can have on run-off water and flooding etcetera...

"Rainwater harvesting is a programme that is encouraged at the highest level of the UN etcetera.

"For the member to suggest that this is returning to buckets and barrels, I must say that as an MP I feel am very ashamed of that question.

Padarath retorted, "I'm also very ashamed that for the twenty-first century this is how we are addressing water shortages in rural areas."

Otherwise, Mayaro MP Rushton Paray asked about Mayaro's water-supply.

Gonzales said the situation would not be helped by installing larger pipelines to draw water from the same constrained source, but he advocated the drilling of new shallow wells in Mayaro, plus setting up a local water treatment facility.

"Before the end of next week, there will be an award of contract for the drilling of three wells. So we are localising the source of water and we believe those three wells will give us approximately 500,000 or 600,000 gallons of water that will become available for some of the hard-hit communities."

A ministry/WASA team had found a suitable location is Mayaro to build a water treatment plant, he said, supplying an extra 1-2 million gallons.

Benjamin asked for a list of areas benefiting from last year's $25 million allocation to the Community Water Improvement Fund (with the same sum allocated this year.)

Gonzales said 20,000 citizens in communities across TT had benefited from last year's allocation.

Couva North MP Ravi Ratiram complained of ageing pipelines in Couva West and Roystonia, plus help needed for John Persad Road, Felicity and Endeavour.

Gonzales invited Ratiram to write his ministry. "The member, his constituency I recall, Brickfield and Orange Grove, they have benefited under this programme. "I thought he would have said 'thanks' but of course he didn't do that. He didn't even acknowledge that."

Ratiram thanked him and said the community appreciated what was done, but said it had taken three years. "I'm hoping its not going to take him two more years to get the road completed."

Oropouche West MP Davendranath Tancoo asked about a $3 million allocation for an intelligent virtual guarding system at WASA installations, down from last year's allocation of $5 million of which zero was spent. The minister said the WASA board had not been sure it would get value for money on a particular proposal made to it, and had sought further reviews on it. He also said several alterations must be done on WASA premises before such a system can be installed.

Meanwhile the tender process had been scrapped.

Ram said Aranguez farmers were once charged for harvesting rainwater, but Gonzales did not recall the matter.