Water Truckers & the proposed RA

I am concerned that the intricacies of the Bermuda water trucking business have not been fully explored by the document and more discussion needs to be had with the members of this industry.

>Water trucking is almost exclusively for household water supply as large commercial businesses and hotels have all hooked up to piped water or installed their own RO [ reverse osmosis] systems.

>Water trucking is a "feast or famine" business---when it rains the phone never rings....when it is dry there is too much business to be handled efficiently.

>Water truckers are generally owner/operators and have much invested in their truck and the business.

>Bermuda's geography and narrow roads make some truckers limit their delivery range----driving a long distance takes time and reduces the number of loads one can deliver per day.

>Water trucking is a physical job and is not for everybody----unrolling 100 feet of hose for one load and then "walking the hose" so that the liquid remaining in the hose is delivered into the tank....and then rolling up 100 feet of empty hose will confirm this.

>The expansion of piped water supply will continue to erode the customer base for trucked water----I believe that truckers are philosophical about this and accept the progress as inevitable. I also believe that they agree with the need for assured quality of the water supply and welcome information from the Dept of Health about this.

>The document states that "trucked water will need to be tested by an approved water testing body to comply with drinking water quality standards...." and I certainly need much more detail on this. The document does say that water can be "purchased from a piped water operator subject to testing requirements" and I expect that water truckers will be very concerned about added costs and limited access to such supplies.

>I note that there is no mention in the document of tank cleaning services being regulated......either the frequency of cleaning or the scope and efficiency of the cleaning, materials and chemicals used etc.

>It is interesting that the document states "demand for water has tripled in the last 50 years" [pg 24] but there is no data after 2002. Resident population and available hotel beds have dropped since 2022 so where is water demand currently?

>The bigger question is what level of resident population and visitor accommodation can be reliably supported by our water resources and our waste water/sewer systems?

I have a variety of other concerns and may be able to add them in a separate comment. I especially wonder how well this consultation was publicized as well as how challenging it is to actually weigh in with opinions and comments----not everyone is on line and not everyone can easily navigate the internet.

Bruce Barritt