‘Sav’ mayor calls on Gov’t to speedily address Negril’s water woes

Savanna-la-Mar Mayor Danree Delancy has implored the Government to intensify its plans to address the water supply issues in the resort town of Negril in Westmoreland.

In raising fresh concerns about the water shortage in Negril ahead of the start of the winter tourist season, Delancy said promises from the Government to address the lingering water issues have so far not been fulfilled.

He told Thursday's monthly meeting of the Westmoreland Municipal Corporation (WMC) that business operators and residents of the town are feeling the impact of what he described as a "water crisis".

He elaborated that, "I am extremely concerned... Negril was hit late last year to this year by (a)... water crisis.

"We heard a lot of announcements and pronouncements from the Government as it regards to plans that they have, but low and behold, to date, nothing has been done to solve the problem," Delancy claimed.

"As I speak, there are sections of Negril that have no water in their pipes," he told councillors.

The mayor said while the island is in the traditional rainy season, many communities in the parish are without the precious commodity.

With the winter tourist season on the horizon, Delancy said he is "worried" for hoteliers in Negril.

"Investors, including restaurants, hotel operators, other business people, and residents, are now having a real water crisis, and the Government's plans to correct the problem are yet to come on stream," he suggested.

"I am also worried about Jamaica's image as a tourist destination, in particular Negril.

"I want to once again call upon the powers (that be) to start something immediately; start the process to get water into Negril and surrounding areas," Delancy urged.

In the heights of the water crisis in Negril earlier this year, the Government announced in May what it called the Western Water Resilience Programme that would see an expansion of the infrastructure to improve supply to Negril and western parishes.

Speaking in Parliament at the time, Prime Minister Andrew Holness said the programme will see the installation and replacement of two major pipelines, the first of which was from the Martha Brae Water Treatment Plant in Trelawny to Terminal Reservoir in St James, while the second pipeline was from the Great River Water Treatment Plant in St James to Negril, Westmoreland.

In describing the project then as a major investment, the prime minister explained that the upgrades to the transmission mains were being pursued under emergency procurement.

"The pre-engineering phase of this project has commenced at a cost of $32 million," Holness told Parliament in May.

"This will last six weeks. During that period the National Water Commission (NWC), in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance, will complete the necessary technical and administrative work to facilitate the deployment of US$160 million or $24.8 billion for the installation and replacement of these two pipelines," Holness said then.

He added that the project for the installation and replacement of the two major pipelines will be done over three years.