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Buxtonians fear water-borne diseases as water drains slowly from the land
Stacy Porter fears contracting a water-borne disease due to having to obtain potable water from a pipe that is covered by the flood.
Despite recent infrastructure work in their village, Buxtonians are baffled as to why the excess water still remains on their land, four days after the inclement weather has abated.
A visit to the community yesterday revealed that in some cases, water was as high as two feet in many yards, especially in the southern section of the village.
And according to residents, barring more rain, at the present rate of drainage, it will take another two to three days before the situation can return to some semblance of normality.
This is despite assurances from the Chairman of the Buxton/Foulis Neighbourhood Democratic Council, Randolph Blair that all systems including the outfall pump were working at full capacity.
The situation in the Buxton/Friendship area is a cause for some concern, especially since several surrounding villages have seen the recession of water, despite the comparatively less superior infrastructure.
Stacey Porter, who resides in Wilken Street, Friendship, presently has to wade through knee-high water, which is compounded by the likelihood of disease from the surrounding latrines and livestock in her community.
She said that the water is receding slower than usual and she is hoping for some relief soon, since her six children are at the mercy of water-borne diseases.
“Remember de toilet flood out and the toilet water and the rain water mix up together and it dangerous,” Porter told this newspaper.
She is convinced that although a lot of infrastructural work was recently done in the village, especially in the backlands to facilitate increased farming activities, the authorities seemingly ignored the little drains in the community,which she is convinced is the cause of the present situation.
“The drains de dig before, but they full up back. You gat to keep up de drainage because if you don’t do that, it will continue being like this. The water moving slow and it even stink, it ain’t smelling good and this is dangerous,” Porter reasoned.
She said that even though the area floods easily from heavy rains, the water normally recedes faster than the present rate.
Cicely Cambridge is another resident who is feeling the adverse effects of the slowly draining water.
She was forced to flee from her home in the Brusche Dam/Friendship backlands to higher ground in the village. However her sister’s Company Road residence was hardly any better since there too is still under a foot of water.
Cambridge said that already they have suffered significant losses in the form of damaged electrical equipment and furniture. She stated that despite the functioning drainage system in the village, the water has only dropped an average of three inches within the past three days.
Chairman Blair, in an invited comment, was optimistic that the situation will be remedied shortly.
He explained that the outfall door which drains water into the Atlantic Ocean was only cleared on Tuesday, a day after the heavy rains abated, resulting in a back-up of the excess water, since only a small electrical pump was in operation.
“Now that the door has been cleared we expect the water to recede far faster. But residents are still crying out that the water level is high, even though that door has been cleared since Tuesday,” Blair said.
He revealed that he had done some groundwork within a two-mile area and discovered that in some areas water is still on the land.
“Basically all the pumps are working. We would have to check to find what is the reason (or reasons) why the water is not moving as fast as it should,” he said.
“Once there is no more rainfall there should be no cause for alarm. But people have suffered because they would have been under water for three days or so,” he added.
According to Blair, water from the backlands has been flowing into the village and the NDC will be monitoring the situation over the next 24 hours to ascertain what needs to be done.
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