$26-m water project brings relief for Mitchell Town

Retired teacher Victoria Dawkins hailed the flow of potable water through pipes in her Mitchell Town community in Clarendon as a blessing last Thursday.

Dawkins was speaking with The Gleaner following a commissioning ceremony, which followed the community's $25.7-million pipeline replacement project, which was completed on March 16 by the National Housing Trust (NHT) and the National Water Commission (NWC).

“The scheme was without water for many, many, many years, we had to be buying water, so now that we have it [flowing freely through our pipes], it is a blessing for us,” said Johnson, who has called the community home for the last 64 years.

Residents of the community had been complaining about the intermittent access to water for many years. The community was dependent on NWC's system in New Town, Hayes, which serves several other communities, including the Monymusk housing scheme, Lionel Town and Rocky Point.

“Because it had to share, we get [water on] two days. They usually turn it off and the other communities get two days,” Dawkins told The Gleaner.

Another resident, who did not want to be identified, disclosed that she had a run-in with the law because she had opted to source water via illegal means. She expressed relief that the project marked an end to her water woes.

Clarendon South Eastern Member of Parliament Pearnel Charles Jr noted that it was a moment worth celebrating for residents of the Mitchell Town housing scheme, which was built by the NHT in 1983.

“For 40 years, the community of Mitchell Town and several other communities have waited for decisions to be made to confirm to them that they are valued, respected, and that their community is a priority,” he said.

“I can understand that when the NHT built the development, within [a] short time you would not expect any upgrades, but when it's 15 years or 10 years and moving, it would be mandatory for an assessment and allocations to be put in place to either upgrade or replace, and that wasn't done,” said Charles Jr.

CONSISTENT WATER supply

He said that when he was first elected member of parliament for the constituency in a by-election in March 2020, residents “were getting water one day, two days, little water on Monday, little water on Thursday [but] are now receiving water consistently”.

Jacqueline Johnson, senior project manager at the NHT, posited that alongside building houses, the NHT is mandated to build holistic communities. She said that on that premise, the NHT has undertaken a scheme maintenance programme geared towards upgrading the first 100 schemes built or financed by the agency.

“The list of projects is long. However, the NHT recognises the importance of providing this timeless support for the renovation and rehabilitation of all the housing projects to ensure that they meet modern standards for safety, durability and liveability,” said Johnson.

The scope of work for the overall project includes repairs and upgrades to water, roads and drainage infrastructure; disaster mitigation; and construction of social amenities such as community centres.

“To date, we have completed over 40 projects with a further 47 at different stages of procurement or completion across all 14 parishes,” said Johnson.

In stressing the importance of making potable water accessible to all Jamaicans, Senator Matthew Samuda, minister without portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, referenced the $7 billion allocated for water projects in the Budget. He noted, too, that there was no disparity between water projects undertaken in urban as opposed to rural areas.

“We completed projects in every major township, in every single parish last year. In fact, because there's a further way to go in rural Jamaica, we've actually been investing at a heavier rate in rural Jamaica,” said Samuda.

He noted that multimillion-dollar projects were completed in several areas of Clarendon, including Wood Hall, Woodside, Salt River, and Kemps Hill, and that several other water projects will be undertaken islandwide.

olivia.brown@gleanerjm.com