The Wattices/Cauls Bottom area, a small community in Anguilla, is soon to have its own water supply through the self-help efforts of residents there.
The water will be coming from the 12-foot Stone Well, one of the earliest wells in Anguilla thought to have been dug by slaves for watering sugar and cotton plantations.
Long after that, however, all through the 1940s up to the early 1970s, Stone Well, hewn through a cluster of rock formations, continued to be a source of water, drawn by buckets, for the people of the area. There was also an old trough close to the well which was used as a drinking facility for cattle but over the years it deteriorated and has now completely disappeared.
“We have cleaned out the well and anybody in our community will be able to get a bucket of water,” said Leonard (Sony) Gumbs who is one of the leaders of the restoration project. Sony, who has the diligent support of his children and other persons in the village, made the point that no trucks would be permitted to pump water from the well. The water is very fresh and, although there is Cauls Pond just to the east, Sony believes there is a providential fresh water spring coursing its way into the well from the Fountain at Shoal Bay.
“We cleaned the well down to the sand,” another person stated in support of that claim, adding: “wherever the water is coming from originally, we are glad to have this well.”
The self-help efforts of the residents have attracted the involvement of the Anguilla Red Cross which is lending a helping hand. The contact person working with the residents is Trevor Queeley, Manager of the Disaster Management section of the Red Cross, who will be arranging a public hand-over ceremony later on.
Meanwhile, an old 40-foot container has been conveniently placed higher up in the village to be used as a storeroom. “We will be having weed-eaters, rakes, shovels, wheelbarrows, other equipment and supplies,” Sony explained. “The tools will be used to keep the sides of the road clean. It is all part of an effort to improve our community.”
