MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR WATER PROJECTS IMPLEMENTED

BY: WARREN WINT

Minister of Water and Housing, Dr. Horace Chang (right), turns on the system at the Sligoville Road Transmission Main, in St. Catherine on December 16. Also participating are Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture, Hon Olivia Grange (centre), who is the Member of Parliament for Central St. Catherine, and the National Water Commission's Area Manager for St. Catherine, Pauline Adams Russell (partially hidden).

A multi-million dollar project, which will address water woes in the Corporate Area and St. Catherine, was among projects undertaken by the Ministry of Water and Housing this year, as the Government sought to meet it commitments of provide Jamaicans with universal access to potable water by year 2015.

Minister, Hon. Dr. Horace Chang signed the US$215 million contract on October 30 for the Jamaica Water Sector Improvement Programme, which is expected to come on stream within two years. The project, which will be undertaken by the National Water Commission (NWC), will provide residents of Kingston, who have borne the inconvenience of water lock-offs, with a reliable, adequate water supply.

The programme, according to Minister Chang, will be designed to bring adequate supply to the Corporate Area and St. Catherine, filling the current gap of some 10 million gallons daily in the rainy reason and 15 million gallons per day during the dry season.

“Financing contracts are in place and work has started in many places, and most others will most likely start by January...it will mean major employment...and significant relief to those who have been suffering water shortages and lock-offs." the Minister stated.

In January, Dr. Chang officially commissioned the $20 million Askenish to Dias water supply project in Hanover. The project involved the laying of 3.9 kilometers of 150-millimeter iron pipeline from Askenish to Dias, to benefit approximately 4, 000 residents in Western Hanover.

The facility is linked to the major water supply system that serves the north coast area. During the first week of March, the Pedro River Water Supply System in St. Ann was officially handed over to the community. The cost of constructing the water supply system, including the installation of tanks, filters, chlorinators, laterals and distribution pipelines, was $10.5 million.

“At the Ministry of Water and Housing, we understand the importance of providing potable water to residents across Jamaica. This is not only because we have to fulfill our obligation to meet the 2015 Millennium Development Goal for water, set out by the United Nations, but because we are acutely aware that water is critical if we are to live healthy, dignified lives as individuals," said State Minister Hon. Everald  Warmington at the opening ceremony.

JA and Tanzania to Share Best Practices

A delegation from the Democratic Republic of Tanzania visited the island early in the year to learn from the country’s expertise and share best quality practices in water sourcing and management.

Dr. Chang and technocrats in the Ministry met with the visiting delegation, including Minister of Energy and Minerals, William Ngeleja.

“I hope this will be the beginning of a greater level of co-operation. I am sure you have skills we can work with in different areas of our country and that the people who are here will be more than happy to share information with you," Dr. Chang said.

According to the Tanzanian Minister of Energy and Minerals, “we chose Jamaica by design and our expectations have been exceeded. We are thankful for the excellent presentations we have received and the quality of material presented.”

Drought Mitigation Efforts

This year was one of intense activity on the part of the Ministry of Water and Housing as it put measures in place to mitigate the effects of the drought, which has been affecting the island since November 2008.
  Dr. Horace Chang, even while commissioning a number of water projects and signing contracts for rehabilitation and upgrading of existing systems, and construction of new ones throughout the island, entreated the nation to conserve on the precious commodity.

In March 2009, as the nation faced a protracted period of drought, Dr. Chang spoke about the possibility of putting a structure in place to facilitate the harvesting of rain water for domestic use.

“I have already drafted policy documents that will look at encouraging, in certain areas, the use of rain water for domestic purposes, and allow the expensive treated water to be used for commercial purposes," he informed, while commissioning the Braco to Runaway Bay Water Supply Project in St. Ann. The US$17 million project involved the laying of more than 23 kilometres of transmission and distribution lines extending from Braco to the verge of the highway in Runaway Bay, and the construction of a 500,000-gallon tank above Rio Bueno in Trelawny.

As the drought conditions worsened across the island, the Minister, in August, entreated members of the public, including developers, to conserve on the commodity, pay their water bills, and protect the infrastructure put in place to deliver water to the population.

Minister of Water and Housing, Hon. Dr. Horace Chang inspects a water saving tap during a tour of Eco-Tec Centre located at the Montego Bay Freeport Commercial Centre on December 4. The purpose of the tour was to examine water and energy conservation methods and equipment in light of the current drought conditions the island is experiencing.

"We are asking members of the public to conserve water as much as they can and to protect the infrastructure out there. There is no point in damaging the water infrastructure as this is expensive and time consuming to replace. We also need developers to pay their off-site infrastructure development fees,” the Minister said.

As October came without any sign of the seasonal rains and the water levels dropped in the storage areas, and in preparation for what the meteorological office projects to be a significant 2010 drought season, Dr. Chang asked the Water Resources Authority, which has a reliable database of aquifers, to identify those, especially in the southern plains, where additional water can be accessed.

This includes aquifers in parishes, such as St. Thomas, St. Catherine, Clarendon and St. Elizabeth.

Addressing journalists at a press conference at Jamaica House on October 29, Minister Chang said that while there has been a significant drought throughout 2009, next year may present more of the same.

“My understanding is that there is not likely to be any significant number of hurricanes next year, but we are likely to have droughts and that's a problem we will have to deal with," he said.

On December 4, the Minister again made a call on citizens, particularly those living in the Kingston Metropolitan Area and surrounding communities, to employ all possible water conservation methods. This, he said, is necessary in order to stave off a severe crisis as the country continues to experience a drought.

“I am not in any way trying to frighten the country, but the reality is that with only 400 million gallons of water in the Mona Dam, unless we take the kind of dramatic measures we are announcing and actively implement them, the reservoir could run dry, before the major rainy season in October next year," the Minister warned.

By December 10, with no ease to the drought in sight, the Government announced a $477 million mitigation programme to address the islandwide water shortage.

Speaking at a post-Cabinet media briefing at Jamaica House in Kingston, Dr. Chang said the programme entailed several measures, which are expected to bring relief to householders in districts, particularly in the northeastern and southern sections of the island, including the Corporate Area, which has been experiencing low rainfall.

The measures, which are being jointly undertaken by the Ministry and the National Water Commission (NWC), include an aggressive and extensive public education programme, highlighting the impact of the prevailing situation and conservation measures that can be employed to assist in mitigating the problem, to be undertaken at a cost of $17 million.

Other measures are: a black tank distribution programme by the Ministry in conjunction with the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) costing some $15 million; the trucking of water by the NWC and local authorities over the next six months at a cost of $297 million; restoration of some five wells throughout the Corporate Area, at a cost of $142 million, to provide an additional five million gallons of water; and the completion of 22 rural water supply projects, three of which have already been commissioned, at a cost of $97.2 million.

Dr. Chang said that the wells being restored are located at: King's House; Devon House; Hampstead, Mountain View Avenue area; Rennock Lodge, East Kingston; and Havendale, St. Andrew.

He said that the King's House well should be on stream by February, and has a good supply and quality of water. The Devon House has to be assessed for its volume and quality and the Rennock Lodge well that was taken out of commission over 10 years ago because of saline intrusion should now be in good order. It is being tested and should be able to provide good quality water in that area.

He said that a small well in the Havendale area will also be brought on stream by February.

Dr. Chang also disclosed that the NWC will be embarking on a "more aggressive" leak and repair programme, because leaks are not affordable for any prolonged period.

"So by February, we are confident that in addition to the trucking and the other mitigation and conservation measures, we should be able to bring on stream (upwards of) an additional five million gallons of water in the Corporate Area (and other sections of the island)," he said.

In the meantime, residents of Scotts Hall, in St. Mary, are now benefitting from an upgraded water supply system, which was handed over on November 5.

The upgrading, which was carried out by the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF) at a cost of approximately $23 million, involved the construction of two entombments, a water storage tank, the laying of pipelines, the re-laying of a distribution main and laterals within the community, connecting an incoming supply line from the entombment to the water storage tank, connecting an outgoing supply line from the water storage tank to the distribution main, and the installation of a water filtration system.

Some 1,075 residents of the community are expected to benefit from the upgraded system.