Residents of Odessa McClean Road yesterday got some much needed water relief around 4:30 in the afternoon, after having been without water for the past three days.For nearly two hours, the angry residents stood in the road voicing their anger to media personnel, as parliamentary representative Kenny Best tried to get the matter sorted out.Many complained of not being able to cook, bathe or even wash properly, with one stating that it was unfair to be “left without water like dogs”.The residents of the Zone 1 area had been feeling the pinch since Wednesday, after the lone standpipe, which is on the property of the National Petroleum Company (NPC) substation in their community, was disconnected by NPC officials.Best stated that while he did not condone squatters, he had spoken to Minister of Health Donville Inniss, Minister of Environment, Water Resources and Drainage Denis Lowe, and Minister and Minister of State with responsibility for Energy Darcy Boyce, who would be meeting soon to discuss how best water could be provided for residents. He said they would also be discussing the Reverse Osmosis Plant, which had been on the cards for some time.Looking around at newer structures going up, Best said the Town and Country Planning Department also had to be more vigilant, since the area was already designated as Zone 1, and no water facilities were being allowed to be placed in the homes there.Best said while Government was paying “to a certain level”, he had been assisting with the water bill, but it continued to escalate, reaching over $1 100 some months.He said some residents had been informed earlier in the month of the decision by NPC to disconnect utilities at the end of the month, but “they did not believe it”.Former MP Trevor Prescod, who was also on the scene with residents, said that even in previous years residents had experienced water outages because of disconnections from the NPC, and it was time to look at more long-term measures, namely the osmosis plant. (CT)
