Water-filtration system brings clean water to Frome
GlobalMedic, Pan-Caribbean Sugar Company and health ministry partner on effort
Published:Wednesday | December 17, 2025 | 12:08 AMMickalia Kington/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
Residents of Frome, Westmoreland, yesterday began accessing clean, drinkable water again with the installation of a community water filtration system at the Pan-Caribbean Sugar Company Limited (PCSC) factory.
The system was provided by GlobalMedic, a Canadian non-profit humanitarian organisation, and is designed to serve approximately 3,000 residents whose regular water supply was disrupted following Hurricane Melissa.
Richard Forward, team lead with GlobalMedic, said the organisation has been supporting hurricane relief efforts in Jamaica and identified Frome as a priority community. He explained that the system includes a water tank, piping, and an ultraviolet (UV) filtration unit to ensure the water is safe for consumption.
Forward explained that raw water supplied from the sugar factory will pass through multiple treatment stages before distribution.
“The water will go through a sediment filter, so it’ll remove a lot of the particles in the water, and then it’ll go through charcoal, which will provide taste and odour benefits … and then it goes through the ultraviolet process,” he explained. “It’s the ultraviolet process that kills the bacteria, viruses, and protozoa that can harm people when they drink water that’s not been purified.”
Addressing concerns about UV exposure, Forward said the system poses no risk to users.
“There isn’t such a thing as too much ultraviolet. It’s all contained within a steel casing, so nobody sees the light. So the only thing that sees the light is the bacteria, the viruses,” he said.
He added that the system eliminates up to 99.999 per cent of harmful microorganisms.
Kimberly Grey, legal officer at PCSC, said the company agreed to host the system after consultations with GlobalMedic and the Ministry of Health.
“Our core production is making sugar and molasses,” Grey explained, noting that while the company has an internal water supply, it is not treated for consumption.
She explained that the proposal emerged after World Central Kitchen ended its post-hurricane operations and sought a more sustainable solution.
“The Ministry of Health is responsible for monitoring water and safety of water, so [we said that] if you can bring them on board for that, we will assist as best as possible,” Grey said.
Unsafe water sources
With assurances that the health ministry would monitor the system, Pan-Caribbean agreed to provide infrastructure and electricity.
Meanwhile, Gerald Miller, promotion and education officer at the Westmoreland Health Services, welcomed the initiative, noting that many residents have been forced to rely on unsafe water sources since the hurricane.
“Lots of the residents are without potable water,” said Miller, who explained that people have been turning to surface water, springs and untreated river sources.
He said the health department has intensified public education, distributed chlorine tablets and erected warning signs in high-risk areas, including Sweet River, Ancho, Whithorn and Barham, with plans to install dozens more across the parish.
Miller urged residents not to remove the signs and cautioned against the belief that long-term use of untreated water makes it safe. He also warned of risks posed by underground contamination.
“Our parents and grandparents always say it’s not the same day the leaf drop a water bottom it rotten. It could run through a cemetery, it could go through a pig pen, … run into a septic tank and then come down to them and they are using it,” he said. “We don’t want our hospitals to become overwhelmed … from diseases that can be prevented.”