Water Supply System Put Into Service in St. Elizabeth

The Trenail Water Supply System in Maggoty, St. Elizabeth, was officially commissioned into service in the district on December 7.

The project, which was completed at a cost of $24.8 million, will directly benefit the 3,400 residents of Trenail, Retirement, Hominy Hall, Bethsalem and Maroon Town.

At the commissioning and handover ceremony, Managing Director of the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF), Omar Sweeney, said the organization, along with the Government, is committed to the development of the quality of life of citizens in Jamaica.

He outlined that women and children, in particular, are usually the most impacted by the lack of water, which cuts into productivity time, so his organisation embraces projects of this nature.

“We know that without water, life is just uncomfortable. Having the water enables better, more productive activities by women and children especially in the households, and so this is the type of upliftment that we want to see with this type of investment,” he said.

For his part, Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. J.C. Hutchinson, commended the work of JSIF, and encouraged the residents to continue to utilise their governance structure to advocate for development within their community.

“For any project to come into an area, it has to come through an organisation. No one man can come and apply to JSIF to say they want a project, it has to come through an organisation,” he outlined.

Mr. Hutchinson also highlighted that efforts will be made to extend the project to other areas of St. Elizabeth.

The project, which was funded by the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), the Basic Needs Trust Fund (BNTF) and JSIF, included the rehabilitation of an 80,000-gallon tank, the rehabilitation and extension of a concrete catchment pad, the construction of a sand filter and chlorination system, and the testing and sterilisation of the PVC pipeline.