TO GET WATER into critical reservoirs on the island, the Barbados Water Authority (BWA) has begun additional work on St Michael roadways.

Dale Miller, BWA project manager, marketing and communications, said there were two projects running which would include traffic diversions in the areas of Station Hill, to Eastmond Corner, Barracks Road, closing the entire junction at Sobers Corner, Eagle Hall to Bridge Road and from Bank Hall to Bush Hall.

"We are actually laying a 12-inch main from 3rd Avenue, Station Hill, to Eastmond Corner. This main will complete the final portion of a main that is going to link the Grandview and the Brittons Hill reservoir being fed from The Belle Pumping Station.

"Right now we are feeding The Belle Pumping Station through a route that is much more expensive and difficult. This new main provides an alternative and it also gives us a back-up to feed Grandview reservoir that feeds a significant portion of Bridgetown, like the Queen Elizabeth Hospital and other critical services; and Brittons Hill reservoir which feeds from the Garrison right up as far as Sayes Court, Christ Church.

"We are also working on Barracks Road where we have added an 18-inch main. That is also providing an additional feed into the greater Bridgetown area to put water into that system in case we have difficulties feeding into this point that comes through the Waterford feed or across the 20-inch main that goes through Tichbourne," he explained.

Final portion

In addition, the BWA was in the process of laying a 16-inch main between Paddock Road and Dalkeith which Miller estimated to be the final portion of the main "that would allow us to feed water into the Brittons Hill reservoir".

"We will also be starting work shortly on a 12-inch main from Lewis Gap to Westbury Road and this one will allow us to bring water from the north into the Greater Bridgetown area which will utilise water primary from the desalination plant if ever we have a problem from any of the other three mains," he said.

Miller estimated that the Station Hill project should take up to four weeks where work is scheduled from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. to allow morning and evening peak traffic. The Barracks Road to Sobers Corner project would continue for two to three weeks, where work is scheduled from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. Miller advised that motorists would be unable to access Whitepark Road, Bank Hall and Eagle Hall for up to the middle of July.

He said there would be traffic diversions coming into the City from the junctions of Mansion Hill Road and Barracks Road, while traffic leaving the City would be diverted at Eastmond Corner and Savannah Road. He also advised that "all day Sunday from Eagle Hall to Bridge Road and from Bank Hall and Bush Hall will be completely inaccessible".

The BWA official also admitted the difficulties they were having with the Newmarket reservoir in St George, and their inability to provide adequate water levels to the Hanson [St Michael] and Fort George [Christ Church] reservoirs.

"The Newmarket Pumping Station provides more than half of the capacity for those two reservoirs and, as a result, we have had difficulty servicing the Wildey [St Michael] commercial and residential area. Once the electrical and pumping difficulties are rectified, we don't anticipate any problems," said Miller.

He also addressed the difficulties the BWA was having serving customers in Collymore Rock, St Michael.

"Because of the integrity of the bridge next to Bishop's Court Hill, none of the utilities was allowed to go across the bridge, so we actually had to put our main behind the bridge and we had some difficulties in having that main totally anchored. As of today (yesterday) all residents along Collymore Rock will have water and switched over to the new eight-inch main," he promised.