EDITORIAL

Trouble in North Side water pipeline cleared

Wednesday,  February 1, 2006

The speculation and concern of the people of North Side over the arrival of the long awaited pipeline bringing water to their district was a genuine concern. It was therefore encouraging to hear the Minister Hon. Arden McLean on Friday confirm it would be going West, the direction where most residents live and not after all to the East.

Although the issue was soon resolved after Cayman Net News raised readers’ concerns in a story last week and even added a little satire to the matter in Friday’s cartoon, it is a lesson in communication.

Although it was suggested that there was much ado about nothing as far as this pipeline was concerned, for the people of North Side it was about something very important.

In our first story concerning the matter the ‘ado’ arose because residents were genuinely worried that the plans to bring the pipe West first, were being changed and residents complained that they couldn’t get a straight answer.

Their concerns were proved right when our reporter too struggled to get to the answer to what should have been a straightforward question.

The lesson here is not just that raising issues in the press does often get results, but that it would be easier if all Government departments were communicating their plans to the people of this country more clearly and more regularly.

Rumour, gossip and speculation will always be rife if people don’t get straight answers.

The issue over the North Side pipeline is one too that is very close to the heart of the people of that district.

For many years residents have lived with the issue of their water systerns, which had to be filled on a regular basis. Residents have to remember to order their water before it’s too late and the pump means they are dependent on electricity to keep the pump working to get water to their taps.

For North Siders the wait for electricity after Hurricane Ivan’s landfall in 2004 was a long wait for potable water again as well.

Many residents have looked forward to this event for a long time and it is important to them.

They have invested in their homes to ensure that they can be connected to the supply as soon as it is available and many have been waiting far too long for the connection.

The fact that the issue is now resolved is reassuring to them and it is nice for the residents of the district to know that the new Mandarin Oriental Hotel under construction on the Queens Highway, isn’t taking priority over their needs as was speculated.

In this case the ‘Much ado about nothing’ became, ‘All’s well that ends well.’

As noted above however, had the questions raised by residents over the last few weeks been answered more expediently then the concern of the anxious North Side home-owners may never have reached the level it did.

It is clear at one point last week no one, even the men working on the road and laying the pipes, were sure exactly which way they were going first – East or West.

The point being that communication is everything and without it we are all lost.

If the plan had always been to go West then why were the residents so concerned and why was it so difficult to get a straight answer?

And why was there a halt to the trenching after the work reached the ‘hill’ at the Frank Sound Road and North Side road junction, as the engineers waited for instructions?

Most people can cope with delays and even changes in plans if they are told clearly and honestly what is going to happen and when and what the reasons for the delay are.

Many of us can attest to the fact that it is far more frustrating sitting at an airport waiting for a delayed plane with no idea of its anticipated arrival, than if the airline comes clean and admits the true extent of the delay.

In reality ignorance is very rarely bliss.

As it goes there is no doubt that the majority of people in North Side will be delighted that they can look forward to seeing the pipeline heading their way very soon.

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