Islander, ? for you, water restrictions in St John's?

[tribefan]

We have a group of 6 couples going to St John's in April for 8 days. Two of the couples are on a cruise currently and they were talking to someone who said that there were water restrictions on the island. Do you know of any? This would be a total pain with 12 people trying to shower and such:eek:

Thanks in advance!

[Betsy's Mom]

If you are worried about water usage call your rental agent and ask. We use water from cisterns that comes in the form of rain and often there is dry spell and water usage will be restricted by the very lack of water in the cistern. Some rental properties will fill the cisterns with purchased water, they may or may not charge extra for this water. Water is very precious on the Island.:)

Enjoy your stay,

B.

[Ms411]

Hmm, water restrictions or beach restrictions? It's been raining so much lately that most cisterns are full or running over. After Hurricane Omar, some beaches were closed, because the run-off from the rain created temporary potentially unhealthy conditions. Maybe that's what they meant by "water restrictions."

 

Water is less plentiful in the summer, so that's when you're more likely to purchase water. It all depends on amount of rain, cistern capacity, and how much water you use. Conservation is encouraged year-round, though.

[The Islander]

If the person was just on island and said water restrictions and didn't elaborate then agree with Ms411 that it might have been in reference to beaches. DPNR does weekly testing of water at popular beaches and with the rainfall/Omar they recommended waiting a few days before swimming at some beaches.

 

As for water usage restrictions on St. John, year-round residents try to conserve water and visitors usually will find a note in their hotel/villa welcome information indicating the islands' dependence on rain water and how important it is to conserve and do things like turn the sink faucet off while brushing your teeth or turn the shower on, then off while soaping up. Sometimes in the first few months of the year with tourist season at its peak months so a lot of water usage and Jan-Mar being the driest months of the year, the demand for purchasing water from water delivery companies exceeds what they are able to supply in a timely way. Generally property owners keep an eye on water level in the cistern and order water before it runs out, so don't think you should encounter a problem of being without. Agree with Betsy's Mom though; contact your villa agent/resort about the water situation just so you hear it from them and what they do.

 

--Islander

[tribefan]

Thanks!!!

[2Feathers]

Islander's & Betsy's Mom's comments reminded me of signs placed above the toilets in the bathrooms of a villa we once rented in St. John that said:

 

"In this land of sea and sun, we don't flush for number one."

 

Have fun on your trip and conserve the water while you're there! Its a precious commodity...