With no water to bathe her newborn grandson or boil his baby bottles, Icacos resident Shaheeda Maharaj broke down in tears on Monday, begging her councillor to do something to help her.
"My daughter Stephanie Maharaj make baby and she came home on Friday with my grandson, but there is not a drop of water to cook, bathe, wash. We have not had a drop of water for over two months," Maharaj said during an interview on Christmas Eve.
With Christmas a day away, Maharaj said her home was in a dirty state.
She said normally they used to get water from a private contractor, but when they went to him over the weekend he told them he could no longer supply them because the Water and Sewerage Authority was cracking down on the sale of water.
"We have no choice but to beg for some help. The water reaching Fullarton and Bonasse but it is not reaching us. We cannot even wash meat to cook for Christmas. We bought meat and we stick it in the freezer just like that because there is no water," Maharaj said.
She said they have been using baby wipes to clean themselves as there is no water to bathe.
Another resident of Bamboo Village, Cherylann Singh, said some residents have not had water in a month.
"I have some tanks and right now we are using the water sparingly. It is impossible to enjoy Christmas with no water. We do not have any water to clean up," she said.
Cedros councillor Shankar Teelucksingh said a total of seven houses at Ramsey Street, Icacos, as well as Lalla Road, St Quintin Estate, Los Gallos, Bilwah Trace, Grand Chemin Road were affected by the water shortage. He said the Siparia Regional Corporation could do little as it was crippled with its own staff shortages.
"There is also a problem with paying overtime but we are trying to get a private tender to go out and help the residents," Teelucklsingh said.
He noted that there was a leak in Icacos as well as problems with a booster pump.
"WASA has fixed part of the leak and they have fixed the booster pump but another leak has popped up in Granville Old Road and WASA is dealing with that," he said.
An email was sent to WASA's communications department and a source said attempts will be made to get truckborne water delivered to the affected residents.