Their incomes may vary widely, but there's one thing residents of St Ann's, Cascade, Mt Hololo and Lady Chancellor Hill have in common: a chronic shortage of water, and the supply appears to have grown worse in recent months and years.
Those without storage tanks are less likely to have a steady flow of water. But even those in apartment complexes and gated communities considered to fall into within middle to high-income brackets are affected, They share large but inadequate water tanks on their compounds, and the supply has to be strictly rationed when there is little or no water in the mains for days.
In fact, Newsday was told about people considering moving out of these otherwise desirable properties entirely because of the water issues.
[caption id="attachment_888980" align="alignnone" width="852"] St Ann's resident Emmanuel Greaves toting an empty plastic barrel to his home to store water. He says WASA doesn't send water to the pipes at his home very often. PHOTO BY SUREASH CHOLAI[/caption]
Peggy Small, a resident of Cascade who also manages two gated communities in the area, told Newsday one person who has already considered such a move is a doctor, who frequently – but reasonably – complained about his inability to bathe and clean his scrubs in between his shift – a fact made more alarming in light of the covid19 pandemic.
Small said, "We see all the water trucks every time an area has a water issue. The whole of Cascade area is problematic, and the higher up you go, (it gets) worse.
"We received water about two days ago, but water goes constantly.
"And all on the hillside, sometimes weeks and months they don't get water...I just saw one (water truck) up Pomme Rose, that's another development. They didn't have water for a long while. When Riverside (Road, at the foot of Mt Hololo) has water, down on the flat, they don't have for weeks and months. So I don't understand that."
WASA's customer care service is reportedly often overwhelmed with phone calls from St Ann's and Cascade begging for water. Small said some of her contacts at WASA and water-supply truck services were reliable, and genuinely empathised with the residents' situation – but were not in a position to address the root of the problem.
Newsday called WASA's line for information on water scheduling and was put in a queue of 30 people. Attempts to reach another line specifically for water-supply queries led to another queue, of 26 callers.
Residents who own water tanks have to call WASA or one of its registered water delivery companies for trucks to deliver water.
WASA customers receive this water at no extra charge. However, the water delivery is done privately, adding to the authority's mounting debt.
A resident of upper Ariapita Road in St Ann's, who asked not to be named, described the water problems as "everlasting," particularly for those living on the more hilly terrain.
She said she also could not recall a time when residents from varying p
