No water in East PoS for nearly 2 months

Port of Spain South MP Keith Scotland said residents of several adjoining streets in East Port of Spain should be receiving a supply of water within 24-48 hours.

The residents said they have been without water for almost two months.

Newsday reported on the issue in this area in December, and Johnson Lane resident George Duncan said they received water for a few days afterwards before they were again deprived of a supply.

Residents of Bonaparte Lane, Basilon Street, Siparia Hill, Chapel Hill, St Rose Street, Pall Mall Street, and adjoining streets were also affected.

Duncan said WASA had told the residents not to buy water, but they have no other choice.

“We’re in the middle of a pandemic, but how are you sanitising? We’re not even getting enough water to pee, much less wash our skin. I have to leave my house and go quite Trincity to have a bath.

"We have to pay $400 for a tank of water, and the men who sold us said give it some time to settle, but it’s been a couple days and it’s still a weird orange colour. We can’t drink it without adding bleach or boiling it.”

He said WASA insisted that it could not make regular deliveries in the area because it needed additional security because of gang activity.

“The private man who comes to sell us water doesn’t come with security. But even gangsters need water to cook and bathe with.”

Duncan said the last time this had happened for an extended period, the residents burned rubbish on Quarry Street and got a regular supply three to four days a week.

Another resident, Frank Skeete, said he had heard the water that was coming to the area was going to the west and was then piped back, and this was why the water pressure was too low to reach the area.

Another resident said she had visited the Public Utilities Ministry last week and was told the area had been put on a schedule to get water on Thursdays and Saturdays. But residents said they had received water on neither of those days.

Councillor Clint Baptiste said he was frustrated over the issue, as he has continually been liaising with WASA.

“They said there’s a problem with one of the pumps, and the pressure is not high enough to reach those areas.

"My problem is that they say they need security to come in, but other commissions come in and do their work with no problems. At the ground level, WASA is not paying attention to certain districts. My district hasn’t had any recent problems with violence, so this is very frustrating.”

Baptiste said another source of frustration was that WASA had not been attending regional committee meetings of the Port of Spain City Corporation for the last few months, which was hindering the resolution of this and other issues.

“I’ve been stopping protests, telling people to have patience while the issue is fixed, but how long can you hold people off for?”

Scotland said he had been informed of the issue previously, and would be speaking with the Public Utilities Minister. He also said he had directly contacted WASA.

“I spoke to acting CEO Sherland Sheppard and I’m hoping for relief within 24-48 hours, if not before.”

WASA corporate communications manager Daniel Plenty said he would look into the issue and provide feedback.