Projects under way to strengthen national water access

The Ministry of Water, Environment and Climate Change is advancing several major initiatives to ensure universal access to water for all Jamaicans, in keeping with the 2019 National Water Sector Policy and Implementation Plan.

Senior Director in the Ministry's Water Policy and Monitoring Branch, Talia Gibson, told JIS News that the projects are being implemented as part of Jamaica's commitment to achieving the sustainable development goals (SDGs). Projects that are being implemented by the ministry through its agencies include the Rio Cobre Water Treatment Plant in Content, St Catherine, which should be completed by May 2027. The facility is projected to supply approximately 15 million gallons of water per day, benefiting more than 600,000 residents.

"We're also undertaking the Western Parishes Resilience Improvement Programme, which, in phase one, replaced metal insulation of transmission mains from Falmouth, Trelawny, to St James, and from St James to Negril, Westmoreland. This will provide much needed upgraded water resources to the western parishes," Gibson noted. The ministry has also embarked on a National Drought Mitigation Programme, through which 50,000 water tanks will be distributed over a five-year period.

"The programme commenced in the 2024/25 [financial year] with phase one [where] over 9,000 water tanks have been delivered to beneficiaries across the island through their respective members of parliament. Phase two will be undertaken in financial year 2026/27," Gibson informed.

Peter Clarke, managing director of the Water Resources Authority, an agency of the ministry, emphasised that equity remains the ultimate goal of the initiatives.

"Equality for us would mean that [those who previously lacked access will now be included]... and everybody will have water in a consistent manner," he said. To support this goal, Clarke noted that plans are under way to expand water storage capacity, including the construction of an additional reservoir and the extension of the Hermitage Reservoir system.

"Our rural areas have been underserved. So, we have programmes to build out [and have] more water going into these areas, to give us more resilience," he added.

Under the western parishes programme, water will be abstracted from the Martha Brae River in Trelawny, the Roaring River in Westmoreland, and the Great River in St James to strengthen resilience across western Jamaica. Several other projects are also advancing, with a focus on coastal areas, which Clarke noted are home to many of the island's capital towns.