Photo: BWS repairing leak on main line
by Kristen Ku
BELIZE CITY, Mon. May 13, 2024
Between the ongoing heat waves and the constant power outages plaguing the country, on Thursday, May 9, Belize City residents took yet another hit as they experienced a water shortage that went on for approximately 16 hours.
According to the Belize Water Service (BWS), both the North and South side were either restricted of water with low water pressure or had no water at all.
This was due to a major leak on the 24-inch main service line that provides the city with water. In a press release they explained, “Due to the power fluctuations, a pulse wave was created within our distribution lines. The water hammering effect caused by the power fluctuations inadvertently created a 23-foot break on our 24-inch main that supplies water to Belize City.”
As early as 1:00 p.m. that afternoon residents began seeing little to no water, while others expressed seeing discoloration in their water supply. City residents, some of whom said this was the first time that they could recall experiencing such a long period without water, didn’t have time to store buckets of water for cleaning/washing use or consumption.
“It was ho-ri-ble! It was beyond crazy. How could water just go like that for like, what, 12, 13 hours? It was a major setback, obviously, because we have things to prepare,” a housewife told AMANDALA.
She explained her struggle of having to rely solely on her gallon of purified water to complete her chores of cooking and washing. “It is something I don’t ever want to experience again, especially with so many blackouts lately,” she added. But she was fortunate to work from home. Some of her friends who traveled for work were not so lucky and had to deal with the issue of not showering after work.
Businesses were also affected during the shortage, particularly one local nightclub which noted that their setback was with their bathrooms.
“It affected us all night long. We had to have buckets to flush the toilet every minute. We even had one of my employees dedicated to flushing the toilets,” the owner said. “It wasn’t something we expected.”
Hair salons were also out of business for the day as both water and electricity, which they depended heavily on, were no longer available. With rescheduling and in some instances, cancelling of appointments, one entrepreneur explained that she lost hundreds in profit for that day alone.
“I’m really upset because bills need to be paid. See, tomorrow is already the 14th and we have bills that need to be paid, and I’m not sure we completed our goal because of the shortage,” she said.
After hours of repairing the leak, BWS and their team were able to restore water to the city by 5:00 a.m. on Friday, May 10, though the water pressure remained low for ground level dwellings only; and it wasn’t until 6:00 o’clock that evening when the normal pressure finally returned to reach upper level structures.