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Call a State of Emergency!—Hon Penn on VI's water woes
This was the call by Eighth District Representative Honourable Marlon A. Penn during a candid discussion with host Floyd P. Burnett aka ‘Heritage’ on the Morning Braff Show on Tola Radio VI on Wednesday, January 22, 2025.
Water Crisis
On the crucial matter of water, its inadequate treatment distribution and supply, the discourse on the show saw Hon Penn bluntly demanding, “We need to call a state of emergency regarding the issue of water.”
Further qualifying the call, he reiterated that the problem is not isolated to Road Town on the main island of Tortola but rather, a national concern.
Hon Penn also attributed the water issues to a lack of proper planning and management, particularly regarding distribution.
‘There’s not a plan’- Hon Penn
“The issue is distribution…we’re not clear that the works they’re doing are going to address this distribution issue because there’s not a plan,” he said, pointing to inefficiencies such as installing pipes in the middle of roads without connections to surrounding households.
Citing examples from his constituency, Hon Penn expressed empathy for residents who have endured prolonged water shortages. He lamented: “To not have running water for weeks and months, as some of my constituents do complain to me in Josiah’s Bay, Greenland, and Upper East End, these are issues we’ve never had before.”
With this in mind, Hon Penn decried the lack of a comprehensive strategy and quipped “if you get $20 to $30 million to spend on water infrastructure and you don’t have a plan, we’re not going to be anywhere closer to addressing the real issue.”
While there is a long list of reasons for the lack of water to residents, including old pipes, lack of proper distribution, lack of pumps, and leaking reservoirs, the Water and Sewerage Department needs leadership, staff and funding.
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9 Responses to “Call a State of Emergency!—Hon Penn on VI's water woes”
Call what State of Emergency? How can big men be so ^%$&* dramatic? We need to call REPUTABLE CONTRACTORS to do the (*&^% work and stop the patch up nonsense! You are trying to tell me that 20yrs onward and we are still here playing politics with serious things? From the days of Carvin (rest his soul) getting contract after contract to fix sewerage and other issues and we are still at square one. Bring in companies that can do the work and stop with the political pandering every few months. The so called poorer Caribbean Islands have their issues but running water and rampant sewerage in the strees and open burning of hazardous waste is not on the list.. Shameless, spineless bunch.
This made it difficult in the preparation of meals, guests and family from away arrive at homes without clean bathrooms, and the holidays are disrupted by something as fundamental as a lack of water. Beyond the inconvenience, it’s a matter of dignity and well-being. Clean water is not a luxury or a privilege; it’s a necessity for hygiene, health, and daily life.
The constant and unpredictable outages create a cycle of stress and frustration. You’re left filling and storing water in every available container, stocking your home with buckets to manage the shortages. The worry never ends—when will the water come back? What if you’re not home when it does, and the supply runs out again? The anxiety of rationing water for cooking, cleaning, and bathing becomes an overwhelming burden.
This ongoing crisis is a glaring reflection of failing infrastructure and mismanagement, and it demands immediate action. Addressing these persistent water shortages is not optional—it’s a matter of restoring the dignity and quality of life that every individual deserves. Access to a reliable water supply is a BASIC HUMAN RIGHT and should be a top priority. No community should have to endure such hardships for an essential water supply. It’s bad enough that we have to buy water to drink from these plastic bottles that are not transported and stored properly by the suppliers, making them hazardous to our health.