Turnbull says JVD residents abandoned without water

Residents of Jost Van Dyke have effectively been abandoned without access to reliable potable water, Second District Representative Melvin ‘Mitch’ Turnbull has told the House of Assembly.

Turnbull described a worsening crisis that has left families bathing in seawater, businesses closing, and residents waiting weeks for relief. Speaking in the House on July 10, Turnbull said the water shortage had reached an unacceptable level despite repeated appeals to the government and officials responsible for water services.

“The people that I represent on the island of Jost Van Dyke have been without water in any 12-month period for more than four months,” Turnbull said, adding that he had “lamented, asked, written, complained” and repeatedly raised the issue with the responsible minister and ministry officials. 

He said the situation had deteriorated further over the previous three-and-a-half weeks, prompting him to convene an emergency community meeting with the Minister for Communications and Works and technical officials. According to Turnbull, residents who pay taxes and contribute to the territory have been left without one of life’s basic necessities.

“Having to go in the seawater to bathe their skin… because there’s no water running in Jost Van Dyke for the last three and a half weeks. Businesses have had to shut down because there’s no running water. This can’t be the BVI that we are leading,” Turnbull told lawmakers. 

Inadequate official response

He criticised what he described as an inadequate official response to the emergency meeting, saying only the minister and the Acting Director of Public Works attended despite the severity of the crisis.

“Where’s the priority?” Turnbull asked, noting that approximately 315 people on the island had been left without a regular water supply. 

The opposition legislator said residents themselves had proposed practical solutions, including deploying a water truck to the island and establishing a standpipe at the water plant so people could collect water for their daily needs.

“You can’t flush your toilet, you can’t bathe, you can’t do nothing except use the seawater,” Turnbull stated. “The people of Jost Van Dyke ain’t no less than nobody else.” 

Beyond Jost Van Dyke

Turnbull argued that the problem extended beyond Jost Van Dyke, saying residents in the Fourth, Sixth and Eighth districts were also experiencing water shortages. He also criticised delays in filling vacant positions on Jost Van Dyke, saying the island has only one Water and Sewerage Department employee and one Public Works employee.

“For the last four years, I’ve been trying to get an additional or two additional persons hired,” Turnbull said, arguing that the lack of staffing delayed responses whenever infrastructure problems arose. 

The concerns come as the territory continues to grapple with a wider water supply crisis. Works Minister Kye Rymer recently acknowledged that residents across the Virgin Islands have experienced prolonged disruptions and attributed the situation to ageing infrastructure, deteriorating distribution systems and years of underinvestment. 

The government has also indicated that it is developing targeted relief measures for vulnerable households while pursuing longer-term upgrades to the water network.