Residents in San Pedro Town were expecting low water bills for the month of March after the island experienced low water pressure and shortages for most of March. In many instances, households on the second and third floors did not have any water supply and had to source water somewhere else. Some islanders are now reporting their water bills are higher than usual. Belize Water Services (BWS) stated that all accounts are based on the customer’s consumption. They invite concerned customers to visit their office on Manta Ray Street near Tropic Air Cargo during regular working hours Monday to Friday to address any inquiries.
The company stated that all bills are based on meter readings. As stated on the invoice, the final amount due is based on the amount of water consumed by a particular household/customer. Many customers claim their bill for March indicates that they consumed more water than
usual, which is hard to believe considering the lack of water that month. If anything, their bill should be less than expected rather than higher. A representative from BWS told the San Pedro Sun that they were limited to answer questions via our phone call but stated that customers should visit their office to discuss any questions relating to the water bill.
The issue with the mechanical malfunction at BWS was a damaged 1,000lb gearbox on February 25th, and the part was rushed to the United States for repairs. After it was mended and brought back to the island, it was reinstalled some days later, restoring water supplies on March 28th. BWS said that the issue would not be a problem during the Easter holidays, April 15th through the 18th. Usually, Easter and the current high tourism season are when the water demand in San Pedro significantly increases and historically a time when the island experiences low to no water pressure.
