Significant upgrades coming to rectify St James Central’s water woes – Samuda
Published:Friday | August 18, 2023 | 12:10 AMAlbert Ferguson/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
SENATOR MATTHEW Samuda says residents of Rose Heights, Rosemount Gardens and adjoining communities in St James Central will be able to access an adequate and stable supply of potable water.
Samuda, the minister with responsibility for water, gave that assurance while on a tour in the constituency on Thursday. Samuda was in a party that included Member of Parliament (MP) Heroy Clarke and senior members of the National Water Commission (NWC) and the Rural Water Supply Limited.
Dr Horace Chang, the deputy prime minister and MP for St James North Western, joined the tour at Torado Heights, where the water-supply system is located in his constituency.
“We looked at a programme of work that we will undertake in Rose Heights, which, admittedly, will be done over two budget cycles, but will involve significant upgrades of storage at three sites,” Samuda said of the NWC’s supply serving these communities.
“MP Clarke, we know he’s had a hard time in recent months, and we did see where there is an inadequate amount of storage. He is going to require close to a million gallons of storage at the appropriate elevations,” Samuda said.
He added that this amount of water would be broken down and stored at three separate points. He also noted that the community would benefit from the replacement and upgrading of pipelines as has been the case nationally.
“There is some work which is under way. We will have a short- and long-term solution. We anticipate that the short-term solutions will take approximately three months,” Samuda projected. “The new pump that we have procured should be completely installed there at Appleton Hall. From Appleton Hall, the older pump there will go to Rose Heights, which will significantly improve that water supply over the three-month period.”
He said that over the long term, further upgrading works will be carried out to significantly improve the flow of water over the next two years.
Senator Samuda also revealed that residents in these communities are among those who will benefit from the $50,000 Black Tank programme announced recently by Prime Minister Andrew Holness.
According to Clarke, Senator Samuda’s commitment is reassuring to his constituents.
“We in Rose Heights, Rosemont Gardens, and the surroundings have been without water for quite a long time. In some areas, it’s on and off. In some, none whatsoever,” Clarke said.
“What the minister has brought to us in terms of what he has expressed to us about what he wants to do is something that is welcoming. We look forward to the starting point, and we know that he is a minister of his word, so I’m not daunted that it’s not going to happen,” he noted.