Bajans paying more for water

Acting Minister of the Environment, Water Resources and Drainage, Senator Haynesley Benn, confirmed the rate hike which would, for example, see a  bill of BDS$20 (US$10) increased to BDS$32 (US$16). But he has expressed the hope that the nominal surge wou

BRIDETOWN, Barbados, July 2, 2009 – Barbadians will from yesterday started paying a higher price for water – around 60 per cent more – as the Barbados Water Authority (BWA) increases its rates in an effort to become more financially viable.

Acting Minister of the Environment, Water Resources and Drainage, Senator Haynesley Benn, confirmed the rate hike which would, for example, see a  bill of BDS$20 (US$10) increased to BDS$32 (US$16). But he has expressed the hope that the nominal surge would lead to more Barbadians conserving the precious commodity.

"I hope that the proposed rate increase would help us to conserve more. I am trusting that Barbadians would find sensible ways of conserving the water they use in all areas of the home. We simply must no longer be labelled as ‘water scarce’," he said as he addressed local and regional officials at an inaugural Water Operators Conference, organised by the Caribbean Basin Water Management Programme Inc. and the BWA.

He said the relative ease with which customers received water through their taps, made it difficult for them to be convinced that Barbados was labelled water-scarce. As a consequence, he said, most policies designed to encourage conservation had largely failed.

In an effort to improve the overall provision of service to the public, the David Thompson Cabinet had also instructed that a 24-hour operational system in key areas of the BWA's operations be introduced. It would replace the existing one in which services were provided between 8:30 am and 4:30 pm and over-time paid for work done after hours.