Improved Water Supply for Residents of Martha Hall in St. Mary

Residents of Martha Hall and surrounding communities in St. Mary are to benefit from an improved water supply system.
The improvement was carried out by the National Water Commission (NWC) at a cost of $5 million, and included the laying of new pipelines, the installation of a new pump and the electrification of the pump house serving the system.
Work on the project began in January of last year and was completed in October. The system was officially commissioned by Minister of State in the Ministry of Housing, Transport, Water and Works, Dr. Fenton Ferguson at a function held at Marlborough All-age School on January 24. Some 150 households will benefit directly from this new system. Addressing the function, Dr. Ferguson said the project was just one of several such initiatives being implemented across the country, in keeping with the Government’s recognition that access to water was a critically important factor in the economic and social development of the nation.
Congratulating the NWC for the work it has done to complete the project, he said minor problems being experienced in its operation would be corrected as soon as possible, in order to ensure that the residents enjoyed the full benefit of its operations.
Dr. Ferguson pointed out that government’s water supply policy was formulated with the objective of reducing by half the amount of persons not having access to potable water by the year 2010. He said so far Jamaica has achieved 74 per cent of that objective, adding that the administration was currently in the process of examining the possibility of partnering with communities and private sector interests to develop the additional supply systems needed to ensure that potable water was accessible to all Jamaicans. He emphasised that government regarded the provision of water as a human right for the people of the country, and that full commitment was being given to the effort of formulating modalities to ensure that this right is guaranteed to the people of every community across the country. The State Minister exhorted the people of Martha Hall and surrounding areas to take the best care of the system and to conserve water, reminding them that they should not take the service for granted as there were many communities worldwide that were not as fortunate in having an adequate and reliable water supply.