Bajans stock up on water tanks as outages persist

A s water outages continue to plague various communities across the island, more Barbadians are purchasing their own water storage tanks as a contingency plan when their pipes suddenly stop running. Across St George, St John and St Philip, as well as in St James, St Andrew and St Thomas, residents have complained of water outages and low water pressure for lengthy periods, forcing some to invest in their own water supply. In the March 2024 Budget, the government announced a waiver of VAT on the sale and installation of water tanks, septic tanks, electrical pumps and pressure tanks for residential properties, effective April 1, 2024, for two years. Then, in the March 2025 Budget, the government extended the concession, with customs duties and VAT waivers on storage tanks and water pumps continuing until March 31, 2028.

Leon Layne, operations and sales manager at Rotoplastics Barbados Limited, told Barbados TODAY the company had seen a steady increase in inquiries about water tanks and pumps, although there had not been a significant increase in sales. Layne pointing to a water tanks with a pump installed with a pipe (Photo Credit: Lourianne Graham) He said: “We have not seen any dramatic change in uptake of water tanks year on year or the water pumps that go with them; however, we have seen an increase in inquiries about these water storage systems, and it might be attributed to increases in outages or people being conscious that they need to have a secure source of potable water at their home. ” He noted that the inquiries come from people concerned about water outages, as well as those looking to secure water storage for the hurricane season. “I wouldn’t be able to tell you now whether it is one person over the other, but people inquire because they want to shore up…