Ministry of Water & Housing

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A contract signing and ground breaking ceremony for the Fruitful Vale water supply system in Portland was held on April 30, at the Fruitful Vale All-age school.

Minister of State in the Ministry of Water and Housing, Everald Warmington, who signed the contract, reiterated government's commitment to ensure that safe drinking water is available to all communities in the shortest possible time.

He said this commitment is in keeping with the United Nations millennium goal of providing safe drinking water to all people by the year 2015.

The project will include the installation of approximately 10 kilometres of pipelines, service connections and appurtenances. The overall cost is $28 million and the work is slated for completion in September of this year.

Noting that the effort to achieve the universal target would be very challenging for Jamaica, Mr. Warmington said the country, nevertheless, had the responsibility of finding ways and means to effectively distribute water to households.

He said this is especially true in the rural areas and hilly interior of the country, where distribution is sometimes hampered by the terrain, driving up the cost of pumping water to residents in those areas.

Observing that in this age of technology, there are still too many cases where residents of rural communities have to walk long distances to get water from untreated sources, the State Minister said that while some water was better than none at all, untreated sources could pose serious health risks through the transmission of diseases, such as typhoid, diarrhea, and other water borne diseases.

Mr. Warmington argued that Jamaica has made several strides toward achieving the goal of providing water for the people of the country, and that the Ministry of Water and Housing is working hard, in association with its partners and stakeholders, including citizens in the various communities, to build on the foundations already laid, and to chart new territory in providing safe and reliable water.

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