Hanover Western MP welcomes water reliability announcement
Published:Wednesday | September 6, 2023 | 12:05 AMChristopher Thomas/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
TAMIKA DAVIS, the member of parliament for Hanover Western, has welcomed Prime Minister Andrew Holness’ recent announcement of a US$209-million (J$32.2 billion) water reliability programme.
The project will provide a water supply to northwestern parishes, where several communities in Davis’ constituency are located, and will be directly and positively impacted.
Speaking with The Gleaner on Sunday following the inaugural staging of the Hanover Western Essay Competition Awards Ceremony at the Lucea Assembly of God Church in Lucea, Hanover, Davis noted that communities slated to benefit from the project include Blenheim, the birthplace of National Hero Sir Alexander Bustamante, Jamaica’s first prime minister.
“Blenheim is the birthplace of the first prime minister, and they have not had running water for years. There is also Dias, Riverside, Middlesex, Ashkenish, Dundee Pen, and Dry Hill, where all these communities are suffering with either low or no water, and they can look forward to all this changing,” said Davis.
“The Great River Treatment Plant and the Logwood Treatment Plant are the two plants that supply water in Hanover Western, and I heard that there are plans afoot to expand these facilities, including expansion of pumps, more lines, and so on. It gives hope, and it means we have moved away from just talk, to ensure there is action,” Davis added.
“As a matter of fact, I had a discussion with Minister Samuda [Matthew Samuda, the minister with responsibility for water] before the announcement by the prime minister, and I was asked to submit the names of the communities that have been hardest hit, and we had discussions as to how we could improve the lives of residents in these communities,” she said. “We want piped water through our homes, and we are working towards that.”
The announcement will be especially beneficial for residents of Blenheim, which has struggled with water woes and poor road conditions from as far back as 2013 despite the area being designated as a national heritage site.
During a town hall meeting in Montego Bay about housing and land, Holness announced that the proposed plan would affect communities in Hanover, St James, and Trelawny, and that the water supply systems in Falmouth, Trelawny and Savanna-la-Mar, Westmoreland, would also be impacted.
However, he did not give a timeline for when the work would commence or how long it would last.
Prior to the prime minister’s announcement, the National Water Commission reported in June that drought conditions had affected water supply in Hanover and Westmoreland, resulting in extension of the regulation hours for some areas served by Hanover’s Logwood Treatment Plant.
In the meantime, Davis noted that Hanover has shifted from being a sleepy parish to a bustling centre of activity and development over time.
“Hanover has moved from being this quiet, sleepy town with very few persons living or traversing in it, to becoming one of those parishes that is seeing an increase in the population and of businesses as well. The two hotels coming on stream have caused persons to come into the parish, and we have not met this influx with changes in our infrastructure, so our roads, water, and buildings, housing as well, will all be impacted by this increase,” said Davis.
She was referencing the ongoing work for the 950-room expansion of Grand Palladium Resorts in Lucea, as well as the new 2,000-room Princess Jamaica Resort near Negril, Westmoreland.