Located in Cockpit Country, the river is one of Jamaica’s many underground water sources.
The Point, Hanover — Contrary to the opinion of civil engineers, Senator Matthew Samuda is adamant that Jamaica has sufficient groundwater sources suitable for drinking.
“The recently submitted and gazetted Water Resources Master Plan (WRA) confirms that Westmoreland, Hanover, St James and nationally, have enough groundwater to meet resident and economic needs. There is enough groundwater and piped water,” asserted Mr Samuda, who is Minister without Portfolio for Water, Environment, Climate Change, Green and Blue Economy.
He was responding to questions posed at a press conference following a meeting with stakeholders in western Jamaica on Wednesday. Samuda said the problem was a lack of infrastructure.
“For 40 years, there has been a chronic underinvestment in the water sector. As Dr. Horace Chan said, I think the first attempt was made during his tenure, which facilitated about $700 million in investment. But … every time you hear the figures that we put out, you can be sure there must be another zero at the end because of this 40-year gap, because that’s what it takes to really make the country water resilient,” he explained.
Samuda…The Water Resources Master Plan recently submitted and gazetted by the WRA confirms that there is sufficient groundwater for the residents (Photo: Naftali Jr.)
Speaking at a community meeting in Negril in early May, Dick Heucheschur, a civil engineer who specializes in water treatment and is familiar with the National Water Commission’s (NWC) systems, said Jamaica’s water shortages are primarily due to overexploitation of groundwater due to population growth and development.
However, the Government and the NWC have consistently maintained that the chronic water crisis affecting the western parishes, mainly Hanover and Westmoreland, is caused by drought conditions.
To address the water shortage, Hoyshkull suggested that governments start looking at desalination and wastewater reuse as possible solutions.
Samuda argued on Wednesday that current climate realities mean the country needs to adopt desalination in the future. He said the government has received proposals in recent years and will continue to evaluate them.
Samuda also noted that desalination is a costly, energy-intensive process that has environmental impacts, which is why the focus is on rehabilitating the water distribution network, increasing production capacity, installing modern intakes and building storage.
The minister noted that parts of the island are far from water sources and that small-scale, planned desalination along the coast could help, but stressed that “the country remains blessed with sufficient drinking water”.
“Before we use this water, we need to make sure that our use of it is as efficient and effective as possible,” Samuda said.
The prime minister has called for an investigation into mobile desalination plants that could function during emergency responses by connecting to the NWC network if necessary, Samuda said. Samuda said the evaluation is still in its early stages.
He told the Jamaica Observer that reusing wastewater for irrigation and landscaping is part of the global future, but there needs to be more scientific and cultural acceptance before its use for consumption purposes can be considered.
The Minister also provided an update on plans for the expansion of the Roaring River Treatment Plant in Westmoreland. The Minister said engineering and planning work is taking place this year with the aim of development works commencing in 2025.
“The project is going through what is called the Public Investment Assessment process. We have received concept approval and guidance from the Ministry of Finance and there is also additional information that needs to be provided,” Samuda revealed.
“We hope to complete that process and then be able to move into what’s called the Public Sector Investment Programme, which is a legal structure under the FAA Act. Once that’s completed and Treasury is satisfied there is funding available, we will proceed to tender. All of this should be completed later this year, allowing the development process to commence in the next financial year,” he added.
