Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Fire and Ambulance Services, Wayne Letang, has said getting potable water to fire officers stationed at the Douglas Charles Airport on a daily basis is a ‘major challenge.’
“We are grappling with the issue of water, particularly that of drinking water,” he told Dominica News Online.
According to him, the water supply in the area got contaminated during the passage of the Tropical Storm Erika and with the heightened occurrence of Gastroenteritis, it is important to supply the officers with safe drinking water to prevent them from becoming sick.
“One of the reasons for that is fire officers literally live at the Fire Station, so it’s not like you go to work every day and go back home,” Letang stated. “They live at the station so we have to ensure that they have the supply of water on a daily basis, water that they could bathe and cook and drink and so on.
He said the fire department wants to avoid the men from getting sick by drinking polluted water.
“We are just asking the officers to bear a little patience with us,” he noted. “The pipe water is to some extent back up but we are still struggling with that of drinking water so we have to be supplying the Melville Hall station with water on a daily basis.”
In addition to the Douglas Charles Airport, other fire stations have to be suppled as well, Letang stated.
Letang thanked all those who have provided the fire department with bottled water.
Get up on you all behinds and boil you all drinking water.
Play less card games and use the down time yo boil or build a filter?
You all pay check was not wash away by the raging floodwaters – buy you all water.
People with no income are doing so.
Is lazy the fire officers at the airport lazy!! What do you all expect? You all expect the priminister to send water for all you too? Get up and do what Marigot people doing. Lazyyyyy
Firemen I hope your water shortage is resolved and soon enough.
Water, a natural source is necessary. We require approximately 6 to 8 glasses (I would think medium ones) of water daily. We must drink ample water to combat dehydration. Water also cleanses the blood.
Dowasco is crap
Please, do not refer to the airport as Douglas Charles. That may be politically correct but as an international passenger you can not book a ticket to go there. Internationally it is still known as Melville Hall and will remain so till our Government change the name legally. Roosevelt Skerrit can stick up two fingers to the world but they can also ignore him.
And they are the ones to complain that the government is creating a dependency standard in the country. They are Firemen and should be seeking ways and means to provide and make this resource available for the area. Man, I love Cuba mode of Operations any given day. A fireman will complain about water in a country with 365 rivers (some are streams ofcourse). Stop depending on Government my people. Stop depending on Government for a bottle of water. Create ways and means to obtain a bottle of water my people. The water can be in a plastic bottle and labeled with all fancy words and ingredients and still bad for your health my friend. Find ways and means to get out of this dependent behavior we are adopting in Dominica.
Just because you are Firemen, you think you cannot seek to resolve your water issue. My Dominican people wake up and get serious with your standards man.
There is now a free unlimited supply of clean drinking water available at WESLEY , From the tap by Londonderry river from the Distillation Project. I can also access ceramic water filters.
The issue also is the lack of information to the Public from DOWASCO, this company totally lack PR settings..
How on earth you have a Company as important as that and their levels are so dam dismal….
is dominica a serious place..water is key, folks pay bills which in turn helps run DOWASCO..
why not give customers process reports, shows a lack of care from DOWASCO..
That company needs to be restructured..the manager of DOWASCO needs to GO!!
I have you know that DOWASCO is 100% owned by the Govt. and they are not making one move with the supremo’s say so. Believe me, that is so.
i understand the situation fully with those firemen…
when reflecting on what happened and the process going forward…
i strongly support a call 100% for the instant removal of DOWASCO’s General Manager..the Company lack direction, it’s not well staffed, lack of sufficient supplies in stock..
folks need to understand we are living in a modern world, when Companies fall short in terms of service and it’s directly pointed to the Manager his head should roll…
So the board of Directors need to send out applications for a competent Water Manager…
Not s softy dude who lacks a clean lens..
Remove the chairman yes, but not mr. Etinoffe.
but when erica pass ? last week man…skerro say no to national disaster..take it..
Firemen prove your worth. Instead of complaining no drinking water you should be producing drinkable water. What does it take for a fireman to build a quality filtration system and supply his co-workers, friends, family, needy ones with clean drinkable water. I am yet to obtain a bottle of water from relief supplies but I distribute clean drinkable water to needy people in my community. I have built myself a quality filtration system at a cost of $150.00 long before Erika. It was done for time such as we are experiencing today.
It looks like everyone should have one. Offer your services to the firemen. Show them how it is done.
Can I suggest they install a reverse osmosis filtration system. I don’t want to teach firemen about the handling- or treatment of water but provision for such a system should be part of the basic layout for the station, in the same way as routine standby generating capacity for electrical power
Brilliant idea! However, you’re asking an entire department to plan ahead for such disasters.
PS. If electricity (cost/availability) is a problem I suggest the use of a solar powered reverse osmosis water treatment system. In fact, I am puzzled why such is not used by our emergency services to supply clean, potable water in Colibistrie for example. These systems are also available as a mobile unit, from companies such as Ampac in the U.S.A. for example. We should not wait till our people get ill from from contaminated water. The cost of that happening would be higher than investing in this tested- & tried equipment.
Don’t be puzzled. Dominicans don’t think ahead. That is the biggest problem on this island. No forward thinking, just gimme, gimme, gimme, especially when there is hardship. It will never get out of the hole at this rate.
How about boiling water? That’s what we did after Hurricane David.
And then straining it, if possible.
I reside in Toronto and I boil my water. Some people have filters which they paid an enterprise to install.
I have purchased filters but they require some sort of battery which have to be replaced occasionally. This could prove costly.
I noted, if the boiled water is kept to settle it still has some residue. I only pour the water which appears clear into a container.
For sometime now I drink no other type of water Occasionally when I go out and bottled water is available I might drink some but not much.
I also take a small bottle of water with me for when I go out, in the event I feel like drinking some.
I think a complete investigation should be conducted into the Marigot water intake and why i took the Engineers almost 3 weeks to determine the temporary move.
Clearly that location has Aiport Hospital-reduced to a cozy clinic Primary and Secondary Schools, as well as a fisheries complex including a large population as that intake feeds 4 villages..
Marigot had a old system which fed the Marigot area up until 1997 when the new system kicked in..
My view if a company worth it’s salt they should have kept that old system in a form of readiness..
As options in terms of knowing what may or may not occur in your network is critical..
But sadly Dominica is renowned as the “FOOLS PARADISE” unable to —-THINK CRITICALLY—-
That’s why investors don’t come around to DOMINICA..due the the island not speaking the Language of Competency and Professionalism..
I will go on the record that the General Manager of DOWASCO should be fired due lack of Foresight Totally unable to…
At least you are able to man up and show responsibility for your men, this is the attitude of a positive leader, the police chief should follow suit.