Three-day suspension of APUA water reportedly wreaks havoc on residents and staff of the Fiennes Institute

Complaints are being made about the Fiennes Institute, which reportedly was without pipe-borne water for three consecutive days last week.

The Antigua Public Utilities Authority, last Thursday, notified the public that dozens of communities would be without water for at least 72 hours, due to emergency maintenance at the Crabbs Desalination Plant.

Accordingly, the government-run Institute was in a mess, reports claim, with the elderly residents unable to have proper baths and kitchen staff not able to wash dirty dishes.  Up to Saturday, February 26, reports alleged that the staff were using paper to clean eating utensils.

A man who says he has been around the Fiennes for some time recounts taking water there for a female resident to have a bath. He described the condition at the facility as horrendous.

While there is a water tank on the premises, the man alleges that it has been leaking for years, with no one doing anything to address the issue.  In the meantime, he says, the authorities continue to truck in water to refill the leaking tank.

There is a call for the authorities to urgently address the situation on humanitarian grounds.  

At a United Progressive Party (UPP) rally last Thursday, Political Leader Harold Lovell said the reverse osmosis plants are not producing at capacity.  This, he said, is largely due to inadequate maintenance of equipment and the shortage of supplies. 

In a press release, the Party says “the Crabbs plant is producing only two (2) million gallons of water a day, which is about half of its 2016 output.  The Camp Blizard plant, likewise, is down to 300,000 gallons from the 600,000 it once produced daily.

“Meanwhile, the plant at Shell Beach and the two at Ffryes have dropped 700,000 and 250,000 daily gallons, respectively… and Pigeon Point’s output has been reduced by 100,000 gallons a day.”

Lovell also chided the Administration for failing to commission two UPP-installed storage tanks, at Patterson’s and Buckleys.  He added that another tank, located at Collins, is full of water, but not connected to the distribution system.

Residents of St. Paul have since said that a storage tank in their area, similarly, remains unconnected.