Schools close as Belmopan loses water

Thousands of students in the nation’s capital, from preschool to university got an unexpected holiday today, as the Ministry of Education took the extraordinary step of suspending mid-week classes. The suspension, according to a ministry official, was taken primarily for health reasons, as Belize Water Services had informed Belmopan residents that its entire system would be shut down all day, and the institutions would be unable to meet the demand for water for bathroom facilities and drinking. And while today’s turnoff of the system caused some inconvenience, officials of the water company tell News 5 that the decision was taken after extensive consultation with residents, city officials and school managers. B.W.S. customer service manager Haydon Brown says engineers are currently laying the groundwork for the installation of a new filtration system that will mean, for the first time, a reliable twenty-four hour supply of water to the Garden City.

Haydon Brown, Customer Service Manager

?What we are putting in is what is referred to as lamella plates or tubes which will help the whole sedimentation process to be a hundred percent better than what it is today.?

?We have shut down one of the sedimentation tanks which processes the water for storage to customers in Belmopan. So yes, we are currently running at half rate so one of the things is to save that storage for a full day tomorrow, Thursday.?

Patrick Jones

?How long will this upgrade in Belmopan be ongoing for??

Haydon Brown

?This work is planned over a five to six months period. In terms of this kind of inconveniences, B.W.S. does not foresee this occurring anywhere in the near future because of the development that will occur, especially to the sedimentation tank.?

Brown says that the first half of the project to upgrade the filtration system will cost BWS about half a million dollars. While the life sustaining liquid is scheduled to begin flowing around seven tonight, Brown says there will be another interruption on Thursday, but this time for a much shorter period, from two to four in the afternoon. The only two schools to hold classes today in Belmopan were Belize Christian Academy and Belmopan Baptist High School, both of which draw water from a well.