When Kirk Hansby was brushing his teeth a few days ago, he filled his hand with water from his pipe to rinse the toothpaste from his mouth. He ended up with a mouthful of dirt.

This has been happening in Banya Gully, St Catherine, for almost a month. Residents have said that for the past three weeks, instead of clean water running from their pipes, they have been getting dark red, muddy water. The frustrated residents lamented to the Jamaica Observer that they want this rectified before Christmas.

“When mi put di water ina mi mouth, a bare dirt me a feel pon mi teeth dem. At that time, mi never really see seh the water dirty when it a run. A when it settle mi see the dirt at the bottom. So, even if the water appear to be clean, when it settle, you will see grains. This nuh really make sense. It feel like mi just take up some dirt and a eat. Mi just a feel the dirt grain dem against mi teeth,” Hansby told the Sunday Observer in an interview on Thursday.

The community’s dilemma started about two months ago after heavy rain left them without water. Then three weeks ago, a water pump in the community was fixed to return water supply to households. However, the water hasn’t been potable.

When the Sunday Observer team visited the community on Thursday, residents said it was one of the better days, as the water wasn’t visibly dirty while gushing from the pipes.

“From the pump fix up back, the water just red with dirt. Sometimes, like today, it dirty and then it run off after a few seconds and you can’t see any dirt, but it still dirty. If you catch water in a container, you see that the dirt settle at the bottom. A just bare dirt. And the mud itself heavy in the water. So, if you full water in a container and then look at it after, a just bare mud. We cannot drink the water. Definitely not! If you drink it, you are drinking dirt,” Hansby said.

But what he has grown accustomed to is: “Just mud water running from the pipe. The water is a heavy red.”

Hansby told the Sunday Observer that because of that: “We have to go to a spring, or we go to Bog Walk to full buckets and containers, and that is a good distance. We have to take a vehicle to go. People who have them own vehicle can drive there. I will go and full all a eight bucket. It nuh really last fi nuh long time because remember you have to cook out of it and bathe and so forth.”

Althea Roberts, a bar operator, told the Sunday Observer that water trucks have been visiting the community and selling water.

“I don’t know if we are supposed to get it for free, but we have to buy it. And they sell it for like $500 a drum. We have to buy it because we want it. And then, I am running my little business, so I need the water. We have to do what we have to do,” she said.

Her neighbour Marcia Fisher said: “A truck come from Point Hill, and I pay $10,000 fi full two tanks. It’s very hard. We have to talk to the media because we want water.”

Roberts invited the Sunday Observer team inside her kitchen. The sink and surrounding area were stained by mud. Containers used to store water were also wet with dirt as if used on a farm.

“To how the water dirty, a suh it stain the sink,” she said.

Like Hansby, Roberts said sometimes, the water doesn’t appear to be dirty until it settles. And other times, it’s just muddy water coming through the pipes.

“You’ll see the water come clean in the day and by later in the day, it’s just mud. Literally, mud a come out of the pipe. The other day when the water come back, mi catch little in a drum and if you look at the bottom, you can see dirt settle. That is how we have it.”

Roberts told the Sunday Observer that she has to use the dirty water from the pipe to shower. The only other alternative would be to spend money on water to do so, which isn’t economical.

“We never really had a water problem until we had heavy rain about two months ago and they said a lightning lick the water pump. Ever since that pump was fixed, a just straight mud a come out of the pipes. We have to buy spring water to drink. Normally, we just use the same water to bathe. We just catch it and leave it to settle. We catch it in the day and leave it until night.”

If she doesn’t allow the water to settle, she said her showers would be reduced to laddering her body with wet dirt.

She had such an experience just a few days ago.

“I saw the water clear and by the time I am to rinse off and wash out my rag, a straight mud mi a see… straight mud. We affi just work with the system,” said Roberts.

Teisha Brown, another resident, told the Sunday Observer that their water situation is unhealthy.

“The water system really bad. We need some water. A water wi want. The school need some water. A bare dirty water ina the pipe. And it is like this three weeks going four weeks now. We affi go a river or go Bog Walk fi get water. It is about three hours fi walk go the river. We have goat fi feed, hog fi feed, chicken fi feed and dem things deh. Pickney uniform cyaa wash and school open,” she lamented.

Raoul Howell, also from the area, pointed to political preference with water distribution from trucks.

“Free water come here all the while but only Labourite get the free water. Nuh PNP nuh get nuh free water. Just straight Labourite.”

Banya Gully crosses into two constituencies — St Catherine West Central, represented in Parliament by Dr Christopher Tufton, and St Catherine North Western, where the Member of Parliament is Hugh Graham. The pump which supplies the water is located in Wakefield, west central, from which the people of north western get the commodity.