Steps are being taken to alleviate the water distribution issues that have plagued several communities in South East St. Ann.
Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Senator the Hon. Matthew Samuda, noted during a recent tour of water systems in the communities of Claremont, Alderton, and Higgin Town, that the Government would be examining the systems holistically, to ensure that the investment in the constituency has the largest impact.
“We have toured several water systems, some of which are in disrepair and some which are significantly under-invested and very inadequate. As such, citizens are unable to access water in particular areas. We looked at some short, medium, and long-term solutions. Obviously for a constituency of this size and this is indeed the largest constituency in this country, there are distribution challenges”, the Minister stated.
Among the measures outlined by the Minister, is the commissioning of a study of the land that is held by bauxite companies in the area, to ascertain the availability of wells that are as close as possible to the affected communities.
“The very nature of this constituency and this area is that pumping cost is going to be very expensive, so we need to get as close to the source as possible. So we will commission that study. There are some productive wells that we are aware of and we will ensure that we do the studies and ensure that the NWC (National Water Commission) has the information and applies for the necessary licenses”, the Minister explained.
Meanwhile, Minister Samuda announced that the NWC will shortly begin pipelaying works to connect the communities of Higgin Town and Claremont in the constituency which has been on the books for some time.
The work involves the extension of the pipeline from Claremont to Higgin Town, a distance of 6 km, and the sourcing of the pump to expand the Walkerswood operations at a cost of $75.6 million. The completed system will serve some 2372 accounts totalling 9488 beneficiaries.
However, the Minister added that several major projects would be undertaken in the area.
“Because of the scale, these will have to go through the PIAB (Public Investment Appraisal Branch) process, it’s unavoidable in our procurement system. But there are other small projects that we’ll look at, so I’ll have Rural Water and the NWC submit the estimates to me as a matter of urgency”, the Minister stated.
The South East St. Ann Constituency has over 23,000 persons benefitting from eight (8) water systems providing close to 2 Million gallons daily. However, the population growth now requires the introduction of new water sources to adequately serve the numerous existing and new upcoming communities.
Minister Samuda was joined on the tour by Member of Parliament, Lisa Hanna, and teams from the National Water Commission (NWC), the Water Resources Authority (WRA), and the Rural Water Supply Ltd (RWSL).
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