The Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) intends to launch an investigation into claims that drivers of private water delivery trucks have been charging desperate citizens as much as $500 to deliver water to their homes.
Some drivers have been demanding that residents whose taps have been dry for weeks pay between $300 to $500 for 400 gallons of water.
The incidents have been happening within recent times at two corporations—the Penal/Debe and Couva/Tabaquite/Talparo Regional Corporations.
The move comes as the country continues to face a harsh dry season, leaving thousands of residents without a water supply.
Yesterday, chairman of the Couva/Tabaquite/Talparo corporation Henry Awong said he heard that some private truck drivers had been charging a $300 transport fee for water to be delivered to the homes of people who were in desperate need of the essential commodity.
“IThese drivers are not selling the water but charging a transport fee. It’s a scheme. This should not be happening,” Awong said.
“WASA needs to clamp down on this. This is extortion. They are digging out people’s eyes in this drought. This water crisis is the worst I have witnessed in years,” Awong said.
He advised his burgesses not to hand over any money to the corporation’s contracted trucks drivers who were paid for such a service.
Awong identified several areas in Williamsville, Couva, Caparo, Tabaquite and Guaracara that had not received water in weeks, stating that burgesses had been suffering and were frustrated.
Of the 178,000 burgesses in his corporation, Awong said, almost half the population had dry taps.
The corporation provides truck-borne water to burgesses who are without pipe-borne supply.
Water is delivered three days a week by 14 trucks, 13 of which are contracted by the corporation.
Due to the severe water shortage, Awong said, a ration had to be given out. A barrel of water would be delivered to a small family, while a family consisting of ten members and more would get two barrels which have to last several days.
Chairman of the Penal/Debe corporation Dr Allen Sammy said he knew for a fact that private contractors had been delivering water to residents in his corporation charging varying rates.
“They charge from $300 to $500 for 400 gallons of water. I know people who bought water but are afraid to come out openly and talk about it. Of course, it is illegal to buy water. Water is a right. There are unscrupulous people doing this....not only today but years now. They take advantage of vulnerable people. If they charging for delivery and not water, then they playing with words. The solution is that WASA has to manage its water distribution far better,” Sammy said.
Guardian Media Ltd raised the issue with WASA’s chairman Romney Thomas of truck drivers charging a transport fee.
“I would have to investigate that now,” Thomas said.
Thomas said WASA’s contracted truck drivers were not permitted to accept money from customers who put in a request for water. He said there were “free water” signs emblazoned on WASA’s fleet of water tankers and 29 contracted trucks so people would know not to pay.
“I don’t like to speculate. I don’t know if anyone of our truck drivers is doing anything like that. If you are telling me those are the complaints that are coming in, then we will investigate it. If it is found to be true, we will deal with it very seriously.”
Asked if was illegal for unmarked trucks to sell water to people in a community, Thomas said yes, as he identified the fourth schedule, paragraph 31, of the Water and Sewerage Act which states that any occupier of a premises who is supplied water by an undertaker without WASA’s consent is liable to a fine of $150 and can be charged for the value of the water.