Drought forces water disruptions for more than 50 Portland communities

More than 50 communities in Portland have been hit with tighter water restrictions because of worsening drought conditions, the National Water Commission (NWC) says. 

The state agency said Saturday that several water supply facilities in the eastern parish are operating at reduced production levels "as a result of severe decline in surface water inflows, due to the current drought condition".

It said approximately 13 facilities are recording declining levels, with some as low as 95 percent drop in inflows. 

"The situation has forced the utility company to implement stringent regulated piped supply and trucking schedules in an effort to manage the limited commodity and to adequately service the impacted communities," the NWC said. 

On May 1, residents from communities served by the Fairy Hill Well Facility blocked roads in protest of disrupted water supply.

The NWC later reported that it was having problems with the chlorinator pump at the facility, which is critical to the water treatment process.

On Wednesday, Minister without portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Senator Matthew Samuda, said $3.9 billion will be spent to upgrade the Grants Level Well in Portland. 

“One of the main water supply areas for Portland is, indeed, the Grants Level Well, with the development projected to meet the increases in population and density requirements,” he said, noting that ground is expected to be broken in the next fiscal year that starts on April 1, 2024.

The minister also pointed to several other smaller water projects including that a new source of water has been identified in Fairy Hill, which will provide 300,000 gallons a day for over 2,500 households. And he said in the next 30 days, $30 million worth of work will start on the development of a well in Sherwood Forest. 

Jamaica has been experiencing a drought for months, forcing the government to announce a series of support programmes including the provision of tanks to some hard hit areas of the country. 

Samuda said an analysis of data comparing rainfall accumulated from October 2022 to the end of February 2023 show that it was the driest period recorded in Jamaica's history.

Some of the areas under water restrictions are: 

- Drapers, sections of Fairy Hill, Boston, Castle, Black Rock, Fair Prospect Housing Scheme

- Manchioneal, Long Road, Hectors River, Compound, Flat Grass

- Haining, Belle Castle, Scott's Run, Passley Garden, Snow Hill

- Windsor Forrest, Hartford, Commodore, Benjamin Hill, Martha Brae Road, Fair Prospect High

- Long Bay, Rural Hill, Rose Garden, Panton, Kensington. Zion Hill, Sherwood, Forest

- Port Antonio, Anchovy, Dolphn Bay, Norwich, Boundbrook

- Buff Bay and environs, Kildare, White River, Charles Town, Plum Valley

- Hopefield, Union, Hermitage Housing Scheme, St. Margaret's Bay, New Road, Whydah, Cooling Spring, Hope Bay

- Mt. Pleasant, Panton, Red Gate, Donny River Bridge, West End

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