Thousands out of water because of excessive rain

by Linda Straker

• Excessive rain due to tropical wave and Inter Tropical Convergence Zone interaction
• Nawasa issued notices on its Facebook page advising water service disruptions
• Telecommunications services also affected

Thousands of residents in 5 of Grenada’s 7 parishes are currently without water because of excessive rain that occurred within the last 24 hours due to interaction between a tropical wave and the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ).

The showers and thunderstorms resulted in rivers overflowing their banks, landslides, rocks, falling trees, and blocked access to several main and secondary roads, according to reports from residents who posted their videos and pictures on social media platforms.

The National Water and Sewerage Authority (Nawasa), the statutory body responsible for the distribution of water, has issued notices on its Facebook page explaining to the customers that their water service is disrupted because of landslides or blockage to dams. “Due to a landslide, a damaged main is currently affecting water service to the areas of Belle Isle, Content, Coals Gap, La Sagesse, and surrounding communities in St David. We are unable to provide a timeline for when service will be fully restored.”

In another posting, Nawasa said, “Due to ongoing heavy rainfall, additional water systems have been impacted by dam blockages and high turbidity, further affecting our service delivery.“ The notice warned that the return of water service cannot be determined. “Due to current conditions, we are unable to provide a timeline for restoration at this time. As soon as it is safe for our teams to access and assess the impacted areas, we will initiate restoration efforts.”

Telecommunications services were also affected by the thunderstorm, which had a combination of fork or chain lightning and sheet lightning. “FLOW wishes to advise that due to the severe weather last night with numerous lightning strikes, some customers are temporarily out of service. Flow is presently working on quick restoration,” said a notice from Flow Grenada.