Water Supply System for Pedro River in St. Ann

A $6.4 million contract has been signed by the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF) and the Pedro River Benevolent Society for the construction of the Pedro River water supply system in St. Ann.
The project will involve the installation of tanks, filters, chlorinators and distribution pipes.
Speaking at the signing ceremony on February 24 in Pedro River, JSIF’s Internal Auditor, Carol Perry said that the Society had been chosen to be the contractors due to the JSIF’s new approach called “community based contracting”.
“Communities are given control of the decision-making process as well as the resources for their projects,” she explained.
On hand to witness the signing was the Minister of Industry and Tourism and Member of Parliament for the area, Aloun Ndombet-Assamba.
“Some communities are presently without water due to the fact that they do not have a source and some that might have a source are not readily accessible by the National Water Commission,” the Member of Parliament said.
She pointed out that the aim of the government was to have an even larger percentage of Jamaica’s population being able to have access to piped water, and that the project at Pedro River would provide potable water to many communities in the area.
Senior Hydrologist at the National Water Resources Authority, Errol Green pointed out that the quality of the water source in the area was good and that the results from the assessment proved that the volume of water was sufficient for the project to be undertaken.
He encouraged members of the community to continue to protect the boundaries of the water source, and reinforced the need for regular sampling and water analysis so as to ensure that the quality of the water is maintained.
To date, the Jamaica Social Investment Fund has invested over $28.5 million on projects in St. Ann.