*Fresh water bowsers from Spain
*Pipe to Spain will be next
*Essential services need to be secured to avoid that
*A failure has led to current interruption to water supply
*Good government and administration will be put to the test now
*Investigation into political and administrative responsibility needed
*Lessons must be learnt
SPAIN – HELP! HELP!
There we have it from the horse’s mouth bowsers will be bringing in fresh water from Spain to help with the shortages caused by the impact on supplies from AquaGib resulting from the recent fire in tunnels. What more evidence of reliance on a frontier is needed, not that bowsers will likely do much to improve the situation?
It may be extreme circumstances that have affected our water supply from desalination plants, but the situation does bring into sight the reliance that Gibraltar has for essential services on our infrastructure working well and efficiently, or else it is Spain to the rescue.
Sufficient back-up is possibly too expensive to instal and even more expensive to operate, so a pipe connecting to Spanish supplies is next in line? If that is to be avoided our own facilities must be made more resilient.
SECURE ESSENTIAL INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDED
The preferred alternative must be to secure essential infrastructure facilities to ensure that there is sufficient capacity to provide even if part of the infrastructure is affected and down temporarily.
It is too early to say but somewhere along the line it would seem there has been a failure either of back-up, security, or facilities to ensure continuous supply despite part of the infrastructure being damaged or non-operational.
GOOD GOVERNMENT WILL BE TESTED
The cause of the hugely reduced water supply is not fully known yet, but it is a matter of good government that there should be a full and independent inquiry into all issues arising.
Any investigation should include whether the interruption to supply could have been avoided, how it could have been avoided, and the reasons why those measures may not have been in place.
If any individuals or companies were at fault sanctions should flow. We are not dealing with an unimportant issue. We are dealing with the supply of a basic and essential commodity. A basic need that all have become accustomed to having at the turn of a tap. Good government requires accountability.
WHO IS IN THE FIRING LINE?
It is not just the political government that will be tested by its handling of the emergency. It is the political government that should be put under a microscope for the historical handling of infrastructure attached to essential service. Any deficiencies that may be identified should be dealt with.
Additionally, those public servants and entities and their employees who have been tasked with essential services should come under scrutiny also. Have they advised governments properly? Have contingencies been identified? Have those contingencies been dealt with? The questions are endless.
LESSONS TO BE LEARNT
Lessons will be there to be learnt, and improvements should follow. What cannot and should not be is that things should be ignored on the basis that it has happened once so it will not happen again. Any improvements that are identified to avoid a recurrence should be made.
It would be wrong to just carry on as usual based on the complacency that can set in.
For now, let us hope and trust that normal services will be restored soon. Those have been promised in two days.