Watering Down The Response To The Drought

Watching how the government deals with the current drought in Barbados is an interesting lesson in crisis management. The notice that is published in today's newspapers shows that the government/Barbados Water Authority (BWA) feels that despite the extensive dry period that has been hitting the island, and also many other islands in the Caribbean area, it feels that voluntary restraint is all that is needed now. Stage 1, which is what the BWA has now instituted, by 'encouraging customers to practise good water use habits and employ voluntary conservation measures' is something that should really be a basic aspect of how life is lived in a water scarce country.

I'm one of those who thinks that voluntary measures would have been appropriate much earlier, if only to put into people's minds that the situation was grave some weeks ago, could get very serious, and that would require stiffer responses, including mandatory daytime shut-offs. Having Stage 2 (which will be 'if the situation demands', whatever on Earth that means) may involve official prohibition and night-time shut offs in selected areas as a next step begs the question of how bad the situation needs to be before that stage is implemented. Stage 3, 'if the situation does not improve', will involve 'more austere measures' and 'extended shut-offs...even during the day'. To me, it is a wishy-washy approach that suggests that because 'most of our water systems have stood up relatively well when compared to our neighbours', and that Barbadians do not need to rethink radically how they approach water use. It seems to leave people with a sense of satisfaction that by having done nothing so far, the country has had enough of a response. So, the fact that some areas are having water problems and the numerous bush fires are almost normal. That does not seem to be the right message and response.

Judging by the way that some people around me on Monday evening scurried in a panic when they started getting messages on their phones that there would be water shut offs with immediate effect. Anger that this could happen without prior warning quickly turned to a mad rush to go home and fill buckets. Within a day, the BWA was indicating that the messages were a hoax. But, people seem primed for a need for a very drastic limitation on regular water use. Should the government not encourage that response more vigorously?

Water: Not A Drop To Waste

The following piece was offered by Kammie Holder. He will start new column, "Swimming Up Stream", in the Saturday Nation from next Saturday March 5. He writes that 'It will offer serious critique, humor and obviously mobilization of your thinking'.
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Something is fundamentally wrong with our decision-makers’ brains: there seems to be a fault in their logic and reasoning area. It`s Tuesday morning, 1:30am, yet sleep eludes me, because something is bothering me. I took my usual trip to the bathroom and and without much thought depressed the tank lever and the toilet was flushed; a function we take for granted and other Caribbean countries, even those with rivers cannot, because of drought caused by climate change. Jamaica, Trinidad and even Guyana with their rivers have being experiencing dry taps and saw it fit to ration their water supply.

People, thanks to global warming, droughts in one area and flooding in others will be the norm so get used to it. A growing population, urbanisation, deforestation, global climatic changes and pollution are some reasons for the increased pressure on the existing water bodies. Population expansion is the single biggest reason behind the increased pressure on fresh water resources. Water consumption has almost doubled in the last fifty years and naturally, per capita availability of water has steadily decreased.

I have heard lots of talk on Barbados not being a water scarce country so I will inform the uninformed that water is a finite commodity. If a country has less than a thousand (1,000) cubic metres (m3) per capita per year it is designated a Water Scarce Country. Barbados’ available water resources are currently rated by the FAO at (390) cubic metres per person. One cubic metre is equivalent to 220 gallons. We are adjudged to be the fifteenth water scarce country in the world.

Though approximately 70 per cent of the earth’s surface is covered by water, only 2.5 per cent of it is fit for drinking. The rest is all salt water, which fills up the vast expanse of the oceans and seas — unfit for human consumption. Why then in 2010 are we still flushing expensive potable water down our toilets and using it for agriculture?

Common sense also tells me that the Barbados Water Authority (BWA) should have long ago been encouraging persons to conserve water and start water rationing. Logic suggests to me that the BWA is leading the Minister responsible for the BWA rather than the Minister leading the BWA. This modus operandi can only lead to poor judgment and chaos, as well as poor decision-making. Thus it’s like a case of a private leading a troop into battle, rather than the Commanding Officer. Will it take our taps in hotels, schools and restaurants to run dry before we act?

Mr Lowe, this is an issue of national security. Please show some leadership and stamp your authority. Our inability to imagine what we may be faced with and be proactive is because we have never experienced the stench from unflushed toilets. Can someone tell me if the BWA management has employed an obeah man or some seer, thus the delay of a water caution decision until March? Or is this another case of poor advice from technocrats to ministers who are afraid to manage their ministers for fear of been accused of micro-managing.

Mr Lowe can you please pilot legislation as your legacy, so that all homes can be encouraged through a tax rebate to install water tanks for water harvesting?

Finally, I genuinely recommend the reading of the Biblical parable of the Ten Virgins (Matthew 25:1-13) to those responsible for the managing of our water supply.
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Gimme Water!

The sounds or running water are amongst the soothing things in life. Music composed with water as its theme brings calm, and Handel's Water Music is a perfect example. So, why does the topic of water in Barbados bring ire?



When Mr. David Thompson donned his Finance Minsiter's cape in mid-May and presented the 2009 Budget, he filled Barbados with fear. He warned that an increase in water rates "has been requested" (so polite). Water might not have been flowing freely through the pipes, but it started to flow freely from many eyes. He dangled the sword of Damocles: "The increase as recommended by some analysts was in the vicinity of 100 percent of existing rates. I consider this high and not practical in the current economic environment." But, like the stall holder in the market, he was, however, going to give us all a bargain, and with the announcement last week, we heard: "Not, 100 percent. Not 90 percent...But only 60 percent."

From the time of the Budget, knees (which had no water on them) had started quaking. Teeth (being brushed or not) had started chattering. Wo-yoi! People had been thinking about how they could adjust to having to pay much more to bathe and wash their cars and water their plants. Wo-yoi! People flagged ahead of the increase that it would be hard on the poor man and woman, and that some people really were already using as little water as possible, short of just lying down and dying. But, I heard richer people squealing too: "Only one shower a day?"

But...but...We had heard stories of how bad were the finances of the Barbados Water Authority (BWA), and this was going to continue for some time; worse, hardly any cost-cutting was possible. The 'caped crusader' had told us in the Budget: "Approximately B$80 million of BWA’s operating budget is comprised of costs that cannot easily be reduced without significantly reducing the level of service." For the arithmetically inclined, that meant wages (29%), desalinated water (13%), depreciation (12%), and electricity (29%). David slayed us with the prophetic words: "The projected financial position for the next three years indicates that BWA’s costs will continue to outstrip revenues resulting in operating losses and cash deficits. The accumulated net-loss position is projected at B$121M and the accumulated cash deficit at B$25M."

Dressed as the PM, the 'caped crusader' had twisted the knife ahead of the increase, when he exposed the level of BWA arrears (see Nation report, June 21). He reported that 10,000 customer disconnections were due each month, and that arrears were B$26 million, saying residential customers accounted for about 60 per cent of that figure. Wo-yoi! I have been one of those who argued that, before dealing with the arrears--the amounts and what was really driving customers to withhold payments--an increase would be pouring money down the drains. Can't pay now? Won't pay after an increase. Paying now? Then any large increase could push you into the non-paying group. But who listens to me?

But, I try to be fair. If I believed that I was already doing my personal best regarding water use, what could I say for BWA regarding the services it gave? I looked a little at how the BWA goes about things., I see their operations first hand, as I live close to one of their depots. But, I was pleased initially to find on the government's website, a document entitled "Improved Service Delivery from the Barbados Water Authority" (see link). It mentions jolly terms: for instance, "customer service enhancements" and "a new billing schedule coupled with greater payment options for customers" (meaning paying through SurePay and via Internet banking). It mentions too that the BWA "has also undertaken a review of the channels through which it communicates with its customers and will shortly be implementing a new communications system to enhance the efficiency of interacting with customers". (That statement seems to have been written before new communications system to enhance the efficiency of interacting with customers was operationalized.)

It reported on why arrears were as they were: "In previous months, the BWA’s billing system was behind, in that we read meters at the end of the month, billed 30 days later and gave customers 30 days to pay. With our new billing schedule, customers can expect a more timely and consistent delivery of their bills, thereby enhancing their ability to keep their payments up to date and to assist with better budgeting. The Barbados Water Authority will be reading meters daily, generating bills every day for delivery to customers who will now have 20 days in which to pay." They said convincingly (to them, at least): "The biggest benefit to the customer however, will be the elimination of the occurrence of timely payments for the previous bill, showing as arrears on the current bill." In other words, BWA wont tell you that you are in arrears when you are not. Oh. OK. I could not figure out what that did to the PM's exposition of arrears. But the bold and beautiful BWA "will be launching a renewed thrust to reduce arrears in the coming months". Praise the Lord!

The new channels of communication seem blocked, however. We hear of callers to the BWA being subjected to abusive replies when trying to seek information about why no water was running through the pipes. One caller on Brass Tacks was so upset last week that merely recalling the incident that morning and the abuse hurled from the BWA end of the phone, sounded as if tears were falling. (If so, I hope they were saved for a later face wash.) WIthin an hour of a few similar calls to the radio call-in program, theBWA responded to say that there was a burst water main and that they were working on it. This is the brave new BWA?

Now the deed has been done. Manufacturers are doing what we knew they would--announcing that the increased cost of water will flow through to higher prices for such essentials as rum and beer; dairy products too. But, guess what? They want concessions. Oh, really?

Most people believe that the BWA is a Gulag of inefficiency, and the PM/Finance Minister agrees. Again, in the Budget speech: "Too much money is wasted on pumping water of which a great deal (30% - 60%) is wasted through leaky drains, leaving residents without an adequate water service." Unfixed burst pipes. Leaks that waste water. Imagine if Amazon.com or the Post Office worked that way: would you be happy to keep getting half of the book you ordered because Amazon kept losing the pages, or only half of the letters that were sent because the postman kept dropping his sack in the river? "There you have it", would not go down well.

I read more about the new BWA: "Our overall customer service is also being improved to ensure a more timely, responsive and accurate response to customer issues....Our customers are becoming more demanding, hence the need to refine our procedures and operations to cope with a more demanding customer. Customers have been demanding a speedier response to their issues from burst pipes and mains to water outages, water discolouration and billing queries....An improved issues-tracking system is coming, which will allow our internal customers to track each issue from beginning to end in a seamless way." These customers are just too much with their demands for speedier responses. This is the Caribbean. We don't do speedier. I think that the water that is drunk in the BWA needs to be tested for the presence of some mind-bending drugs.

Minister Haynesly Benn is responsible for water, and he clearly has little to offer us other than 'trust' and 'hope' : "I am trusting that once the rates go up, I suspect from just Bds$20 a month, it's going to go like $32. Don't bother about the percentage increase, dollar value, $20 to $32 sounds steep to some people, but I'm hoping that they would minimise our use of water... I'm trusting that Barbadians would find sensible ways to save water throughout the house."

Minister Benn said there were areas where BWA workers could help save water, but were hampered sometimes because of how the system worked. It's not our fault: Blame the system! He gave an example of workmen being sent out on a site but were could not do repairs in an area close by, because they had to get the proper paperwork and instruction from the office first. Meanwhile, water was gushing down the drain. In view of that, Mr. Benn said he was looking to the implementation of the Cabinet-approved 24-hour work system for key operations at the BWA. I don't see the connection, but there you have it.

No sweet music is ringing in my ears on this matter, and while words flow freely, they wash over me as having little bearing on what really needs to be done. Instead, I feel the drip-drip of water torture; not quite water boarding, but pretty bad.

Government should be about making hard decisions, but it should also be about getting people to support those hard decisions. The handling of the BWA and its financial and operational problems is beginning to look emblematic in not following that principle.