Sewerage issue at Road Reef Marina fixed

It appears the Ministry of Works & Utilities is finally addressing the longstanding sewerage issue at the entrance of Road Reef Marina that has been plaguing residents and businesses in the area.

Mark Sanders, the Base Manager of TMM Yacht Charters, said government seemingly whipped workers into action following his most recent complaints, one of which caught media attention just last month.

“Actually, that night after I sent out another email complaining, I noticed they were digging up the road as I was leaving the office and I believe they were replacing the pumps,” Sanders said.

“The flow stopped the next day. Although I did not get a response from the ministry to my email, it seems they have finally addressed the issue,” the TMM Base Manager added.

Permanent fix?

Sanders said he is a bit hesitant to believe the issue is permanently addressed because of previous experiences and noted he is waiting until it rains again to fully assess the issue.

“For now, it seems they have fixed the issue. However, they have never solved it for too long and I’m guessing another two weeks before it happens again,” the businessman stated.

BVI News had reported back in October that after years of neglect, the overflowing sewerage is posing an economic and health risk to operators in the area.

In a chain of emails seen by the news team between Sanders and officials from the Ministry of Works & Utilities, the TMM Base Manager had been complaining about the issue for nearly four years and he was promised by officials the matter would be resolved in the coming days as a new pump was ordered.

In another email, after the story was published, Sanders again complained about the condition of the sewerage.

The email read: “Sadly, but all too predictably, the raw sewerage is back, pooling at the entrance and running freely into our marina once again. As often the case, the fix lasted all of three weeks, and we now find ourselves back to where we started. We are firmly into tourist season now, and our visiting guests, quite rightly, do not understand or accept that this is just how it must be … This dates back nearly four years. Perhaps my expectations are too high, but I would have thought that amply time to permanently resolve this serious public health issue. When can the resident business at Road Reef expect some meaningful action?” the email said.

In the recent budget presentation, the Finance Minister and Premier Andrew Fahie allocated just under $50 million to the Ministry of Transportation, Works & Utilities and Sanders hopes a portion of the allocation will go to a permanent fix to the issue they are facing with the overflowing sewerage.