Senior Multimedia Reporter
radhica.sookraj@guardian.co.tt
With no pipe-borne water for six months, Shafeek Ally and his wife, Josanne, have started doing the unthinkable—washing their clothes in a brackish pond near their Penal home and using the foul water to flush their toilets.
Ally, a Guyanese national, came to Trinidad two decades ago in search of a better life. But now, with no regular water supply, Ally said he and his family are living in misery. Three times a week, they trek through bushes to reach the pond, where they wash their clothes, knowing they are risking contamination and possible cholera.
Ally told Guardian Media that despite the risks, he has no choice and has been using lime in the water to kill the bacteria. He also gives his wife and two children a mixture of lime, turmeric, ginger, and garlic daily to boost their immunity and reduce the risk of bacterial infection.
However, they continue to fall ill.
“My daughter is in secondary school, and she got sick last week because she came with my wife to the pond to wash clothes,” he said.
Ally admitted he stopped paying his WASA bill because he was not receiving a regular water supply. The bill has now accrued to $5,581.50, a sum Ally cannot afford.
Questioning why he was being asked to pay for a service they never received, Ally said, “I have gone to everyone for help—the councillor, Kamla’s office, WASA—and still nobody is helping.”
In desperation, Ally said, he puts empty kegs in his car and drives to Quinam looking for a standpipe to fill water. Sometimes, he goes to his neighbours asking for drinking water.
“They keep sending bills but no water,” he lamented.
When asked why he was risking his family’s health, Ally replied, “Yes, I know it’s dangerous. I’m afraid to use it, but I’m fed up. Nobody is helping us.”
When Guardian Media visited, the pond water was visibly dirty, with an oily film swirling in its depths. But Ally’s wife, Josanne, said the pond water has become dirtier recently.
“Before, I used to bathe in it, but now that it’s stinking, I’m not using it to bathe. But we still have to use it to flush toilets,” she explained.
Ally added that it costs $360 to buy water, a cost they simply cannot bear.
Ally’s neighbour, Shivram Benair, said it broke his heart to see Ally and Josanne washing in the pond.
“It hurts to see this is what Trinidad has come to, where people have to use pond water to wash. And that water is oily and dirty. People’s mess flows into it,” he said.
Benair said many people in the community buy water, but not everyone can afford to. He said many of them were depending on the rain for water. Others bought water from private contractors.
When contacted, Penal/Debe Regional Corporation Chairman Gowtam Maharaj said those with WASA connections were facilitated by a truck-borne supply. However, he added that the Corporation has only one truck to serve 20,000 customers. Maharaj promised to help the family by making a request to WASA.
Officials at WASA have launched an investigation into the family’s plight.