Ground Broken for 100,000-Gallon Water Tank at Mason River

Minister of Water, Land, Environment and Climate Change, Hon. Robert Pickersgill, on Friday (Aug.13), broke ground for construction of a 100,000-gallon concrete tank in Mason River, Clarendon.

The storage facility, to be built at a cost of $35.7 million, is part of a $202.2 million project for the upgrading of the Mason River Water Supply System.

It will serve some 7,000 residents of Mason River, Kellits, Sandy River, Rhoden Hall, Elbow Corner, Douglass Castle and McKnie.

The project, on which work got underway in August 2013, is being undertaken by the National Water Commission (NWC).

It entails replacement of existing ageing pipelines, and installation and rehabilitation of pumps, reservoirs and tanks, to enable the storage and distribution of water to householders.

Minister Pickersgill informed that two contracts associated with the project have been completed, one for an intake facility at a cost of $21.3 million, and the other for construction of a pumping station and sump for $14 million.

He noted that the contract for the supply of piped materials has been approved by Cabinet and is to be signed by the NWC, while the pipe laying contract has been approved by the National Contracts Commission and is to be submitted to Cabinet for approval.

The final contract, for the supply and installation of pumping plant equipment, has been submitted to the National Contracts Commission and is awaiting its approval.

Minister Pickersgill urged the residents, who will benefit from the improved water supply to pay their bills, and to conserve on the use of the commodity.

“We need to adopt the mindset that we should conserve on the use of water, whether or not we receive rain,” he said, noting that climate change continues to make rainfall unpredictable.

Member of Parliament for North Clarendon, Hon. Horace Dalley, for his part, told the residents that as soon as the project is completed, rehabilitation work will be done on the Mason River main road.