Thu | Mar 28, 2024

Allman Town residents plead for water

Published:Friday | September 11, 2020 | 12:12 AMJason Cross/ Gleaner Writer
An aerial photograph of the defunct catchment facility at the National Water Commission head offices located on Marescaux Road, St Andrew, yesterday.
An aerial photograph of the defunct catchment facility at the National Water Commission head offices located on Marescaux Road, St Andrew, yesterday.
A close up view of the catchment facility at the National Water Commission’s, Kingston offices.
A close up view of the catchment facility at the National Water Commission’s, Kingston offices.
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Residents of Allman Town in Kingston who say they have endured frequent water shortages throughout the summer, have appealed to the National Water Commission (NWC) to repair and resume using six catchment spaces at its Marescaux Road location in the parish.

Residents pointed to recent heavy rains which could have been collected and stored there in order to supply Allman Town and neighbouring communities for close to 24 hours each day.

One woman, who said she was fed up of regularly turning on her tap and seeing no running water, was bewildered that the commission had allowed vegetation to be growing in at least one of the catchment areas.

“From I was a child, those tanks were always filled with water. Now, they are empty and trees are growing in them. I am 65 years old now. Why don’t they repair that?” she said.

The resident continued: “They keep cutting off the water and the catchments are right there. I would like to find out from the prime minister why that catchment isn’t being used.”

A male resident shared that sections of the community receive water at different times, depending on the pumping source.

MUCH BIGGER PROBLEMS

The NWC said on Tuesday that it would be pointless to repair the tanks when the Mona Reservoir was only 38 per cent full and, therefore, enough water would not be available to be pumped into the catchment areas at the Marescaux Road location.

NWC’s Corporate Public Relations Manager, Andrew Canon, said the problem could be much bigger than the storage facilities being out of use.

“There is an issue of increased demand. Over the years, there have been several communities served by Mona Reservoir and those communities have increased exponentially,” Canon told The Gleaner.

“In communities such as in Allman Town, where residents are demanding more water, we are facing increased population growth and demand ... . Even if we fix the storage tanks, you are going to still need water from the Mona Reservoir to go into that facility.”

The public relations manager said that rainfall was not sufficiently consistent to viably maintain some storage facilities, a trend he attributed to prolonged drought exacerbated by climate change.

“It is something we are constantly watching,” Canon said.

The NWC said that Allman Town residents ought not to assume that the frequent lock-offs they were experiencing were linked to the empty tanks at the Marescaux Road headquarters.

jason.cross@gleanerjm.com