Vanterpool demands decentralised water plants to end BVI supply crisis

Mark Vanterpool, leader of the People's Leadership Movement, has condemned the government's approach to water delivery, arguing that the territory has descended into conditions unfit for 2026 by forcing residents to stockpile water and endure bucket-based routines.

In remarks on the PLM's People's Mic podcast, Vanterpool, a former Communications and Works Minister, said the situation reflects a failure of basic governance. "We have accepted mediocrity, and we have gone back to being a third-world country when it comes to something that is a right of people," he said. "Water is a human right that you should have access to and we are accepting that because the government can't deliver it to us."

The core problem, Vanterpool contended, lies in the territory's dependence on a single central desalination facility to serve multiple communities. He pointed to Sea Cows Bay as a case study: despite prior efforts to pipe water from an alternative source, supply remains unreliable. "It hasn't worked. I'm not an engineer. When I was a minister, I challenged the engineers," he said.

Vanterpool's solution centres on building smaller, locally based desalination plants paired with storage reservoirs and modernised pipes. "Every key population centre in the BVI should have a water-desal plant and be able to fix the piping infrastructure and the reservoirs to deliver water to those population centres," he explained. He named Sea Cows Bay as a priority for a new plant and called for reopening the Baughers Bay facility to supply Road Town without interruption.

On the timeline for repairs, Vanterpool acknowledged that replacing deteriorated pipes cannot happen overnight. A full overhaul could span four to five years and address many leaks and distribution faults across the network. Yet he rejected the notion that nightly outages are inevitable. "It is not rocket science. It can be done," he stated.

The government has attributed shortages to ageing infrastructure, prolonged underinvestment, and the shutdown of water plants. Works Minister Kye Rymer has cited failing pipelines and reservoirs as key obstacles to reliable distribution. In September, the Water and Sewerage Department announced progress on restarting the Hannah Hill reservoir, which supplies Sea Cows Bay and surrounding areas.

Vanterpool urged the incoming administration to treat water security as a top priority, and not to delay action until after the next election. "I just hope that they will find a solution. And they don't have to wait until elections to find a solution. I wish they could find it before elections," he said.