The Tribune

By EARYEL BOWLEG

Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

NEARLY two weeks of unreliable water in Tarpum Bay, Eleuthera, has forced residents to fetch water from relatives, disrupted school hours and strained small businesses, residents said, as utility failures again expose the island’s fragile infrastructure.

Cassandra Johnson said outages begin when electricity fails, shutting down pumps and draining system pressure.

“Without power we’re really handicapped,” she said. “There's no water, because at some point there's only so much pressure pushing that happens whether you have a well or not, you know what I mean. It plays a vital role in the business model, in the employment model and the scholastic model of our economy. Students can go to school if they can wash their hands.”

She said morning power cuts lasting about two hours in recent days have repeatedly halted pumping.

Sterlene Carey said she drove five minutes to a relative’s well for water after supply stopped for three days, forcing early school closures.

“Business on the whole it was a big impact because you know a lot of people depend on it for their business. And then school have to came out early,” she said.

A local business operator said operations had to be rearranged so staff could obtain water for basic sanitation, though he described the electricity interruptions themselves as less severe than the water shortage.

Free National Movement candidate for Central and South Eleuthera Philippa Kelly blamed the Davis administration for the prolonged disruption, citing repeated system failures in Tarpum Bay and Rock Sound.

“The government has stated that frequent power outages at the Tarpum Bay plant triggered a pump failure. Temporary fixes did not work, and that spare parts had to be flown in from another island. This is the same pattern every time the system breaks down. Excuses are offered, emergency patches are applied, and residents are left waiting. These explanations do not reassure residents,” she said.

“They confirm that the system is fragile and that there is no reliable contingency plan in place. Restoring water after nearly two weeks is not progress. It is the bare minimum. True progress would mean modern infrastructure, backup systems that prevent total collapse, timely maintenance, and a long-term plan that ends this recurring crisis once and for all. True progress would mean families waking up confident that clean, reliable water will flow from their taps every day without interruption.”

Bahamas Power and Light technicians last Wednesday addressed an emergency outage affecting the Rock Sound feeder and later reported an early morning blackout at the Rock Sound Power Station.

Water and Sewerage Corporation officials did not respond to requests for comment up to press time.