'We are not used to water problems'

WESTERN BUREAU:

While most communities in western Jamaica continue to struggle for a reliable water supply, residents of Logwood in Hanover have an abundance of the precious commodity at their disposal.

"We are never out of water. That is one complaint you will never get from Logwood. While other places struggle with drought, we are thankful that that is not an issue for us," said resident Gavin Reid.

"Not sure we could survive now if water problems start here because we are not used to it."

Hanover records the second-highest level of rainfall behind the parish of Portland, and according to data from the National Water Commission (NWC) website, some 635,457m3 is produced. But a number of communities continue to suffer from a lack of water, with many forced to rely on rain or trucked water.

The parish has five surface sources, with the major facility located in Logwood, and that location now serves an estimated population of 57,285 persons.

The treatment plant obtains water from two sources: the Blue Hole and Fish River springs. Its capacity is 3.2 million gallons per day, and its water supply is divided between Lucea and Negril.

Minister with responsibility for water, Robert Pickersgill, in his presentation to the Sectoral Debate 2012-2012, revealed that it would require $191 billion over the next 10 years to provide reliable supplies to all the parishes.

"We have raised $26 billion of this amount. Fiscal space permitting, we expect to be able to raise the remaining funds over the period."

He also disclosed that the Government would be embarking on bilateral negotiations to secure both the financial and technical resources for a number of water supply projects in the parishes of Trelawny, St James, Hanover, Westmoreland, and St Elizabeth to the tune of US$250 million.

"We recognise that the increases in water-production capacity that will come from the various projects will not have the desired effect if immediate and definitive steps are not taken to reduce the levels of non-revenue water (NRW) being experienced by the NWC," Pickersgill stressed.

NRW refers to the loss of water produced and arises mainly from old and leaking infrastructure and illegal connections (theft) to the NWC's network, resulting in a loss of revenue.

"The aim is to reduce the NRW by eight per cent annually over the next five years to a level of approximately 30 per cent, down from 66 per cent by 2016-2017."