WATER SHORTAGE WOES afflicting residents of St Thomas are also tapping into businesses in that parish and surrounding areas.

"The shortage of water has really affected my business," said Valerie Millington, owner of Toddlers Paradise, a nursery in Arthur Seat for the past 11 years.

"I am left with two children but I got off all the others (about 33 children) by calling their parents. I don't know how long the water will be off but I am hoping it comes back on later so I can reopen the nursery," Millington said yesterday.

The Barbados Water Authority (BWA) could not say when the water service would be restored and Millington said she had not seen a water truck in the area.

Another nursery owner, Janice Reid, said her Little Treasures in Clermont, St Michael, was forced to closed its doors to about 50 children.

Reid said when she called the BWA, she was told the best thing to do was to call it a day because they could not guarantee anything.

A source at Caribbean Confectionary Co Ltd in Edgehill, St Thomas, said they had installed three water tanks "to eliminate these very same water problems".

In a statement yesterday, the BWA explained it was experiencing problems supplying areas fed by the Shop Hill Reservoir.

"The very dry spell and heavy demand have resulted in severe shortages being experienced at the three sources which feed this reservoir – Warleigh, Lodge Hill and Applewaites. There is definitely evidence of dropping water levels at some well sources," it said.

It also listed water outages to Welches, Redman's Village, Bagatelle, Arthur Seat, Sharon, Cane Garden, Melrose, Edgehill Heights and surrounding areas because of an empty Shop Hill Reservoir. Water levels were also low at the Lodge Hill, Golden Ridge and Castle Grant reservoirs.

The BWA has however warned the affected reservoirs would require some time for water levels to rise and resume normal service to the affected areas. (TM)