Water Flows Again in Unitedville After Days of Dry Taps

There’s good news tonight for residents of Unitedville in the Cayo District. After days of frustration and dry taps, clean water is finally flowing again. The village’s burnt-out pump has been replaced, bringing relief to families who had taken to Facebook to vent about the latest shortage. Let’s face it, when the water stops, life grinds to a halt. But as News Five’s Shane Williams discovered during his visit to this tranquil Cayo community, there’s more bubbling beneath this recurring water crisis than meets the eye.

 

Shane Williams, Reporting

Water, it is the source of life. For any community to thrive, there must be a reliable supply. But in Unitedville, residents say their water system has been unreliable for far too long. When the village’s pumps failed last week, angry messages flooded social media, many directed at the local Water Board.

 

Santiago Juan, MIDH Zone Coordinator, Belmopan

“There was some recent shortages of water and one there was a power outage last week Thursday and it damaged one of the pumps that was installed a few months ago. That was quickly fixed and there’s a secondary pump that was pumping, but it couldn’t suffice the entire village. So there was a few streets without water for I think two or three days. But at this point right now if you check around, everybody has water. I sent out the water truck right away. Cayo South we have a water truck that we send out wherever we need, mostly in the rural areas – not only to villages, but sometimes farmers need water. We assist in many aspects. So we sent out the water truck to deliver water to the homes. Everybody got water in the first, I think day and a half.”

 

The person who usually faces the brunt of those complaints is the Board’s billing clerk, Terree Westby. She says the claims circulating on Facebook that some households had been without water for weeks were simply not true. Westby told News Five that she and her small team are out of their houses before dawn and back home late at night, working to fix every issue that arises. She added that they’ve even found signs of sabotage near pump sites and along pipelines. Westby insists her team is committed to keeping the water flowing but says the exaggeration and online fury make the job feel thankless.

 

Terree Westby, Member, Unitedville Water Board

“They just wanna find fault. But we are out here every day. We are out here doing something, and it seems like we’re not doing enough, but I’m not God and I can’t do nothing if the river goes up and the rain comes down, that’s the good Lord’s job. I can’t do anything about that.”

 

Shane Williams

“Tell us about this pump. It probably had problems before. We see the wire seem to have a cut.”

 

Terree Westby

“Yes, I have problems from last year. I have problems. I have someone going around chopping up the lines, messing up the wires. They even go to the reservoir and they shut off the valve.”

 

One resident who knows all too well the pressure of keeping Unitedville’s water system functioning is former five-time chairman Mike Juan. Having overseen the system for fifteen years, he says the problem is nothing new, wells run dry, pumps fail, and every village administration has struggled to stay ahead of the outages. Still, he believes the current board is doing its best.

 

Mike Juan, Former Chairman

“Right now the water a problem might be a problem, but Mr. Espat, the minister right now make sure the trucks they come in. Everybody get water and yes, we have a little – they try it from the river, but it never really work. The rain and the, when the river raise it back weh the pump. So you, you can’t blame the water board da the village because they try to do the best. Just like when I’m the chairman I used to take a licking, you know, and I make sure water come in cause my government mi inna power then, UDP, and they bring trucks the same way and ah have a cousin here working with the road unit right now, Santiago Juan and he make sure water is in the village. He make sure he call people in the village. He called me today, say, cuz you have any water. I tell ah yes I have water. Water is back.”

 

News Five has reported on Unitedville’s water woes for many years, and the long-term solution has always been clear: connecting the village to Belize Water Services’ national pipeline. But that transition comes with a trade-off. Unlike an elected representative, BWS is far less forgiving when customers fall behind on their bills.

 

Terree Westby

“We have some people that doesn’t come and pay bill for a year, and anytime you wanna go and cut them, some people doesn’t pay water for some months, and when you go and cut them they wanna chop you with the machete. They come out with machete after my guys to chop them. I sometimes go out myself with the guys because I wanna see.”

 

Mike Juan

“If they give it to WASA then they’ll realize what they wa pay because if WASA noh pay de wa cut out yo wata.”

 

Shane Williams

“Let’s ask about that. This, How  long has this village been having water issues? And would WASA be the solution?”

 

Mike Juan

“WASA could be a solution, but you gotta pay the price. With the government, we noh really pay the price because if you can’t pay, you gonna talk to the chairman. The chairman tell the water board just left that person make ih get water. You know, because da wa community da noh wa town but if you go to WASA, that’s it. A lot of people will never have water back home because WASA, it’s about the money.”

 

For now, Unitedville residents are relieved to have water restored, but unless a permanent connection to the national grid becomes a reality, the village may continue facing these familiar dry spells. Shane Williams for News Five.