Residents of Pondside and Adjoining Communities in Hanover Now Have Access to Potable Water

Residents of Pondside and adjoining communities in Hanover now have access to much needed potable water, following the completion of the $150 million Cascade Phase Two supply system.

The facility, which forms part of a $600 million development that commenced in 2013, was recently commissioned into service by Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Senator the Hon. Matthew Samuda.

As part of the project, supply from the Great River Water Treatment Plant in Hanover is pumped to a reservoir in Claremont, gravity-fed to another storage facility in Cascade and then conveyed to the beneficiary communities.

The engagement is spearheaded by the National Water Commission (NWC) and Rural Water Supply Limited (RWSL).

During the commissioning ceremony at Merlene Ottey High School in Pondside, Senator Samuda said the new system has ended years of drought in the community and neighbouring districtts noting that it is a commitment that the Government has fulfilled.

“We are very proud to commission this system and we commit further to ensure that [residents and other beneficiaries] get the connections to the system to ensure that water, which is life, is a reality for you in your own pipes,” he said.

Senator Samuda, who thanked Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, for ensuring the provision of the funds needed to undertake the project, noted that the Government has set out to achieve universal access by citizens to potable water and sanitation by 2030.

He also thanked residents for “holding us to account to ensure that the work is done, because we are in a race against time.”

The Minister highlighted the importance of making the water supply infrastructure climate resilient by ensuring that the resource is not lost through leaking pipes, increasing secondary storage by way of community tanks, and bolstering pumping capacity to adequately deal with climate change.

“We ensure that we build systems that are resilient to the frighteningly fast rate of climate change. The Government will continue to invest at unprecedented rates, and we will do so because we will continue to ensure that the NWC is… well [managed],” Senator Samuda assured.

For his part, Member of Parliament for Hanover Eastern, Dave Brown, stated that he was pleased with the project’s outcome.

Other beneficiary communities are Shortfield, Mount Peace, Patty Hill, Cascade, Jericho, Hanna Town, Bula Town, Retrieve and Claremont.

The NWC is also accepting applications for residents who want to be connected to the new supply network.

Senator Samuda and personnel from the NWC and RWSL also toured other water supply systems in western and eastern Hanover.