Water woes for decades

John Thomas of Brown’s Hall, St Catherine, has never had the luxury of a consistent supply of potable water to his home, even after attempts were made to regularise the network in his and adjoining communities by the late 1990s.

Thomas, born in 1964, grew up along with his siblings walking one and a quarter miles to and from the nearest river or stream, carrying small vessels of water to fill larger containers at home.

“It didn’t appear difficult for us then, because that’s what everybody had to do. Those of us whose parents had mules or donkeys would have it much easier transporting water for domestic use home,” Thomas told The Gleaner on Saturday.

Families had to toil in the searing heat transporting water to Brown’s Hall and other neighbourhoods in the 1970s and 1980s, until assistance was offered by the Ministry of Agriculture to build catchment tanks. “But these tanks were not beneficial to us; we still had to walk to get water,” Thomas revealed.

According to him, there was no relief until the late 1990s and early 2000s, when attempts were made to supply potable water to the many homes via pipelines.

“Now, for the first time, we had pipes running into our yards and huge storage tanks were placed at strategic spots in different communities, where they would pumped water from the Goldmine River source in the area to fill these tanks, and then the water was gravity-fed to our pipes in our homes,” Thomas said.

However, this intervention has not been adequate, as sometimes households go weeks without water, especially if low rainfall causes the Goldmine river source to recede.

“This method of water supply has never been consistent. It was meant to provide water to the communities twice per week for residents to store for domestic purposes, but has never worked for us,” Thomas said.

CHRONIC CRISIS

The Brown’s Hall family has not had running water for the last two weeks. That is emblematic of the on-again, off-again crisis that plagues scores of communities across Jamaica. The dilemma will be under scrutiny as the nation commemorates World Water Day today.

The Thomases, a family of seven, said the only solution is to buy water.

“As is the case with most people in the communities, we have to buy water, and depend on the rain when it come to full our storage tanks, and this has proven to be a very costly venture,” he said.

Thomas disclosed that he currently has three 650-gallon water tanks. The financial strain has been grave, as it costs him $3,500 to fill each tank. The upshot: more than $20,000 to fill the tanks twice every month.

Carmen Weir, 73, has lived in Fairfield district, Point Hill, all her life. Along with her 43-year-old daughter, Christine Henry, Weir has experienced the hardship of not having piped access to potable water since she was born.

“It’s very difficult in these modern times not being able to turn on the pipe when we choose and have water running out from a main source that is consistent,” said Weir.

Like her mother, Henry also lamented the family’s plight.

“There is a spring down below us, and just like what my mother did in her time, carrying water to the house from the spring for domestic use, I also did the same thing as a child growing up,” Henry pointed out.

They have also invested in 650-gallon tanks that cost $3,500 for refills.

Though the expense is onerous, the mother and daughter said that option outweighed the health risks associated with collecting water from a spring.

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