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Tobago hoteliers are being warned by the Chamber of Industry and Commerce to brace for a “rough” October following a drought warning from the TT Met Office amid dry conditions over the past three months.
Public Utilities Minister Barry Padarath recently announced that water restrictions will be implemented as authorities seek to manage supplies. Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) acting CEO Dain Maharaj said measures are being taken to boost supply, including upgrades to the Hillsborough Water Treatment Plant, which are expected to add five million gallons of water per day that would otherwise have flowed back into the rivers.
However, stakeholders remain concerned, as October is a critical period for businesses, with an influx of visitors for the annual Carnival. The economic boost for the island is accompanied by heightened demand for the critical resource, particularly in the accommodation sector.
Curtis Williams, chairman of the Tobago arm of the Chamber of Industry and Commerce, is imploring members to expand their storage capacity.
“We indicated to our membership to put the necessary things in place. We are asking people to ramp up storage capacity in terms of getting tanks, et cetera,” he said.
He added that a main concern for members was for WASA to publish a supply schedule that the public could rely on. He said enquiries had also been made about WASA’s ability to provide a truck-borne water supply.
“It gonna affect a lot of us, especially, as I mentioned, those in the hospitality sector. It’s gonna really have some effect on them.
“Trust me, the hoteliers and them will have a hard time. The small Airbnb, the guesthouses, the villas, they will have some really rough time.”
Williams is anticipating a WASA town hall meeting to address their concerns.
“It’s good that WASA could meet with the stakeholders and get a plan forward and get our input into it. That’s quite, quite important.”
Reginald Mac Lean, head of the Tobago Hotel and Tourism Association (THTA), said the recent dry season resulted in tremendous suffering and losses for hoteliers due to inadequate water supplies.
“The lack of water is having a disastrous effect on all of Tobago,” he said.
Mac Lean, general manager of Blue Waters Inn in Speyside, said some hoteliers had been forced to turn away guests.
“Several in the accommodation sector have run out of water and have had to put their guests into other accommodation, and as a result, many will not be able to pay their bills. So, as with transport, water is also detrimental to Tobago’s tourism thrust.”
PNM Tobago Council leader Shamfa Cudjoe-Lewis said the previous government made strides in providing a consistent water supply for Tobago, but claimed the UNC-led Government had done nothing.
“During our time, we desilted the Hillsborough Dam to improve water supply. We did the booster stations, we ran the pipelines from Signal Hill to Apex; we did two new wells in Mary’s Hill. You would have seen the projects taking place to improve water capacity. Since then, what new projects has the UNC Government done?”
In May, amid complaints over the harsh dry season, Chief Secretary Farley Augustine revealed that the desilting of the Kings Bay Dam was on hold due to a lack of access roads. He said the construction of access roads was a priority project of the Tobago House of Assembly (THA).
In the interim, he urged residents of Delaford and Speyside to conserve water.
Guardian Media tried to contact Augustine for an update on the status of the project but received no response. —Stephon Nicholas
English (US) ·