By EARYEL BOWLEG

Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

WATER issues in Central Eleuthera have largely been mitigated, according to Clay Sweeting, MP for Central and South Eleuthera and Minister of Works.

Yesterday, he added that a one million imperial-gallon water tank in Central Eleuthera and a 300,000-gallon tank in Harbour Island are being filled to improve the water supply.

He said the tank would provide a water supply for four days and noted that there have been few complaints of water issues in over a month, except for isolated piping problems.

Eleuthera residents have also experienced electricity issues. Mr Sweeting said progress had been made with installing new generators and repairing damaged lines.

North Eleuthera MP Sylvanus Petty said a new tank for his constituents would arrive just in time for the Regatta, addressing long-standing issues, including a tank that had been leaking for over 15 years.

“Hopefully, we won’t have any water issues in Harbour Island for the next probably 20 years or so,” Mr Petty said, noting the tank is expected to be fully operational within the next two weeks.

Recent protests in Harbour Island over water and electricity outages prompted officials to accelerate efforts to provide consistent utility service across Eleuthera. Mr Petty assured residents that the island should not experience further water or electrical issues for the next six months.

Angela Thompson, a resident of Greencastle, confirmed yesterday that the water service has improved over the past three weeks. In June, Ms Thompson told The Tribune she had not had running water in her home at night. Yesterday, she expressed relief at finally having a stable water connection, allowing her to take a hot shower, use the bathroom comfortably, and have running water.

While she is pleased with the improvement, Ms Thompson’s family still keeps emergency jugs filled with water in case the service is disrupted again. She noted that water service had improved in the past but later deteriorated, making her cautious about trusting its consistency.

“We’re not going to get rid of our emergency water, because with this, it’s unpredictable. So we maybe having a good time later and just an event that couple weeks from now, we have another crisis,” she said. “I’m not going to give up on my extra water supplies not, anytime soon.”

Ms Thompson added that some residents in Rock Sound are still struggling with water issues.