Challenges for WASA

At that meeting, Rowley also told the national community that the cost of supplying water to every property receiving it was heavily subsidised and that WASA was in debt to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars.

If one were to methodically think things through, the logical question ought to be how does WASA manage an essential service without the benefit of liquidity to service its debt, and raise capital to replace its aging infrastructure in the presence of irate citizens? Case in point. In the residential district of Port-of-Spain north, there are at least two developments taking place, one a highly questionable land development, and a building development, within metres of each other, a short distance behind the Prime Minister’s residence.

Transportation access along the two sites is a long, winding, old and narrow road under which WASA communication pipes are laid.

In the instance of the land development, ongoing for several years, front and backhoe loaders, bulldozers and dump trucks have been “licking up” this particular road, undermining the integrity of the aging underground WASA pipes, leading to environmental degradation.

Due to the extent this is happening it appears there is no relief for residents of the area from busted water mains from dump trucks entering and leaving this site even after WASA repairs the problem repeatedly.

Is WASA monitoring public roads leading to development sites, legally bringing freeloaders to heel? On the matter of new, legal or illegal, building developments and rental of units, the overarching question for WASA is what is the authority’s response to the carrying capacity of its product and services in areas that are obviously over-populated but handled corruptly by other relevant agencies of State, and consequences of new property development on its network of materially affected aging equipment?

KATHLEEN PINDER via email