Eastern Hanover communities facing water crisis

Andrea Purkiss, the member of parliament (MP) for Eastern Hanover, says the slogan, ‘water is life’, is not being played out in her constituency as several communities are now facing a chronic shortage of water, with the National Water Commission (NWC) blaming the problem on electrical issues with a pump.

In an interview with The Gleaner on Thursday, Purkiss noted that while some of her constituents are getting water, she is deeply concerned about those not getting the precious commodity, which is preventing them from carry out daily domestic chores.

“In New Mills and in Sandy Bay, there has been the removal of pumps by the National Water Commission (NWC) citing electrical problems. Also, up in Shettlewood in the Chester Castle division, they are having issues there also, so it’s across the constituency, the calls are coming in from everywhere,” she said. “Just to list some of the areas, water shortage is now in Ramble, Mount Peto, Haughton Grove, Chester Castle, Lookout, Bamboo, Montpelier and Sandy Bay.”

According to Purkiss, the situations in Montpelier and Sandy Bay are not new as they have had long standing issues, which the NWC is fully aware of and needs to deal with urgently.

“A water catchment tank is there, and water can be pumped from Sandy Bay up to Montpelier, but both areas have kind f been left alone for the last 10 years, which has left

the residents with no choice but to buy water on a regular basis,” she said, noting that water rarely comes through their pipes.

Purkiss said the NWC pump, which is supposed to be in Sandy Bay, has been removed by the NWC for over two months now, with no communication with the residents who are supposed to be served, which means that totally in the dark as to when their service will be restored.

“Water is too expensive to buy, the people cannot afford it, and they are ready to pay their NWC bills whenever they receive the service,” she said.

Purkiss is taking issue with the lack of communication by the NWC, saying they need to engage residents about what plans are in place to service them, adding that government funding allocated for the trucking of water within the constituency is far from sufficient to fill the needs.

Delano Williams, the NWC’s corporate public relations manager, told The Gleaner on Thursday that he is aware that in the Shettlewood situation, citing damage done by Hurricane Melissa, and plans to restore the service as early as possible.

“The Shettlewood plant was restored after the hurricane, once we were able to safely access the network, the power was restored, the pumps were restored, and we then continue to do the necessary pipeline repairs in the Chester Castle area, so we are not aware of a current operational problem,” he stated.

Williams also stated that if the NWC is notified of any section of the surrounding community that is without water, then a team will do a walkthrough to identify and solve the problem.

He further noted that the NWC has been using several methods to keep customers informed about the work that is taking place, especially in the cases where the ongoing work is going to be over an extended period.

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