North West Clarendon gets improved water supply

MANDEVILLE — Delivery of the Park Hall water system, this week, will result in some 500 residents of North West Clarendon accessing improved piped water delivery.

The system was developed by the Rural Water Supply Limited, with funding from the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) allocation of Member of Parliament for North West Clarendon and Minister of State in the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Hon. Michael Stern.

The project cost $3 million and was supported by the Ministry of Water and Housing. This weekend it will start delivering potable water to the residents of Park Hall and Kipits. Rural Water Supply workmen are currently completing the laying of sturdier, new pipelines.

“Rural Water has erected a 3,000 gallon tank, in addition we lay 2 kilometres of pipelines and we are gravity feeding this water to in excess of 500 persons throughout the community,” said Chairman of Rural Water Supply Limited, Noel Donaldson, on a tour of water sites in the constituency on Friday (May 6).

He explained that it is a system which, he believes, could be replicated throughout the constituency.

“We took a look at the various sources of water that can be harnessed to provide piped potable water to serve hundreds of residents in the constituency. It will be fairly economical to bring those sources of supply into use, due to the terrain,” Mr. Donaldson stated.

He noted that there are several springs across the area, which people have been using for generations as their main water supply.

Mr. Stern stated said that there are other water catchment areas in Corn Hill, Top Sunbury and Blue Rock that he will be using his CDF funds to develop to serve some 5,000 residents. He said that the system will be powerful enough to give water for many years.

“If we use these mini catchment areas throughout the constituency, we can solve our water problems,” Minister Stern told JIS News.

By GARFIELD L. ANGUS, JIS REGIONAL OFFICE