‘Treat water collected from rooftops’, public health specialist advises
By Kisean Joseph Kisean.joseph@antiguaobserver.com Rainwater collected from rooftops across Antigua and Barbuda is contaminated and must be treated before use, a public health specialist advised. Lionel Michael, a public health and environmental health specialist with extensive experience in water and wastewater management, said what residents commonly refer to as “good water” is anything but, and […]
Black News 
By Kisean Joseph
Kisean.joseph@antiguaobserver.com
Rainwater collected from rooftops across Antigua and Barbuda is contaminated and must be treated before use, a public health specialist advised.
Lionel Michael, a public health and environmental health specialist with extensive experience in water and wastewater management, said what residents commonly refer to as “good water” is anything but, and the risks extend beyond drinking.
“All water from our roofs, and other catchment areas is contaminated,” Michael said. “We’re not supposing; we know that they’re contaminated.”
He explained that animals, including rats, bats, and lizards, routinely pick up contaminants from the ground and deposit them on rooftops, from where they find their way into cisterns, drums, and other household storage. He said the water shortage problem in Antigua and Barbuda made the issue more acute, as many residents depend heavily on collected rainwater for daily use.
His warning covers all household uses of the water, not drinking alone.
“You can get skin infections from water,” he cautioned. “You can get certain disease from inhaling the water droplets, the aerosols, when you turn on your shower. In the case of Legionnaires and Legionella bacteria, you can get Legionnaire’s disease, which is very common and similar to pneumonia.”
Michael said the most effective way to make water safe is to boil it, though he acknowledged that was impractical at scale. He recommended household chlorine treatment using bleach, tablets, or powder applied directly to cisterns, tanks, and drums as the most accessible alternative. Ultraviolet disinfection systems, he added, offer a reliable low-maintenance option for residents able to install them, as they treat all water entering the home automatically.
He cautioned that chlorine treatment requires consistency. Residents who allow supplies to run out without reapplying leave themselves exposed to unsafe water without realising it.
Michael made the comments during an appearance on Observer Radio’s The Big Issues programme on Sunday, where he also addressed the Hantavirus strain currently circulating on cruise ships. He was clear that local rats in Antigua and Barbuda cannot transmit that particular strain, which originates in South America, and that the country’s risk from the cruise ship outbreak remains extremely low.
His broader message was that local rodents still pose a genuine public health threat through diseases such as leptospirosis, and that sanitation, including proper solid waste disposal, sealing cracks and openings in homes, and clearing overgrown or cluttered properties, must be treated as a priority.
“The water shortage problem is a very serious public health matter,” Michael said, adding that the issue deserves greater urgency than it currently receives.
