Residents applaud new water tank in Westgate Hills
Published:Tuesday | June 21, 2022 | 12:10 AMChristopher Thomas/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
THE WATER woes which residents of Westgate Hills, St James, have had to contend with for years will now be a thing of the past, following the official commissioning of a new 100,000-gallon water tank by the National Water Commission (NWC) on Thursday, June 16.
Dawn Poyser, a resident of the Westgate Hills community who witnessed the commissioning ceremony for the new tank, recalled how her property and several others suffered flooding due to problems with the previous tank, even as they were without adequate water supply for years.
“The previous tank frequently overflowed, plus we were not getting water from the tank. The overflow caused flooding on premises that I am directly associated with, affecting the retaining walls and the property, and I actually wrote to the NWC on a number of occasions about it,” said Poyser.
“I welcome this new tank, and I look forward to having water flowing in our pipes. Since this tank is new, I don’t expect to have the same problem in the future that we had with the overflowing of the last tank,” Poyser added confidently.
She was one of several residents who came out to see the symbolic turning-on of the hydrant connected to the new tank, which was built at a cost of $30 million.
The tank is one of 30 such tanks which have been completed as part of the NWC’s islandwide Tank and Pump Rehabilitation for Operational Efficiency Improvement Programme.
Kereen Bailey Dawkins, president of the Westgate Citizens Association, told The Gleaner that the community’s previous water tank was woefully inadequate for meeting the needs of the residents.
“This has been years in waiting, as we were reduced to one tank that had the capacity of only maintaining our community for half a day if we had a disruption in the water supply. I know there were plans in the system, for we had a town hall meeting and we were promised that things would be done, and today it is here,” said Bailey Dawkins. “Water is indeed life, and the residents of Westgate Hills are very thankful that the commissioning of this tank is being done.”
During the commissioning ceremony, Marlene Malahoo Forte, member of parliament for St James West Central where Westgate Hills is located, expressed pride in the community’s restored ability to enjoy the precious commodity.
“Water distribution is such a big issue in St James, yet at the Great River Plant (in St James), 15 million gallons of water is manufactured every day. Five million gallons of that are sent to Hanover, and 10 million gallons remain here, and yet so many communities in 2022 still have water problems,” Malahoo Forte noted.
“Today major progress is being made on that problem, as it cannot be that the investment is taken to a certain point and no further. This beautiful community of Westgate Hills is going to enjoy a better supply of water, and it is my hope that the supply of water to your homes will be vastly improved when this tank is commissioned.”
Meanwhile, Herman Fagan, the NWC’s regional manager in charge of St James and Trelawny, asked the residents to partner with the utility company in order to showcase the community’s new tank as an example of what a proper water storage system can be for other areas across Jamaica.