Cedar Hill gravity-feed water system to benefit neighbouring communities

WESTERN BUREAU:

Edmund Bartlett, the member of parliament for St James East Central, has announced that a gravity-feed water system will be opened in the Cedar Hill area in the constituency to provide water supply for several surrounding communities in time for the upcoming Christmas season.

Bartlett made the announcement on Thursday while addressing the official unveiling of a new community Wi-Fi hotspot in Dumfries in the parish, one of three such facilities planned for the constituency along with similar ones in John’s Hall and Lilliput. The new hotspot was installed by the Universal Service Fund (USF) at a cost of $7.5 million.

“Before the pandemic, we were able to expand the well in the Canaan area, so that its capacity has increased and we can get up to 100 million gallons from it. We had to create an opportunity for that amount of water to reach somewhere so it can get into your homes, so we spent a little over $50 million to build one of the largest tanks at Cedar Hill,” Bartlett said.

“Now we are in the stage of laying the pipes to connect from the well into the tank at Cedar Hill, so we can then gravity-feed to cover all the communities around here, from Dumfries to Goodwill, Adelphi, Chatham, Byltheston, Somerton, going to Sign, Herlock, and also Chelsea, and then to go to Irwin Heights,” Bartlett explained. “The National Water Commission (NWC) sent me a note to indicate that the work will be complete substantially by December, so that water will be in the homes of almost every citizen in this area by December. This is a huge development for us, because it is now going to bring portable water to more than two-thirds of the constituency of East Central St James.”

MUCH-NEEDED RELIEF

PhotoThe planned gravity-feed water supply will provide much-needed relief for the residents, who have had to endure previous instances of low or no consistent supply in their pipes. In October 2016, operations at the Canaan well site were disrupted because of an electrical problem at the facility.

Prior to that, in 2014, Bartlett had called for the then Ministry of Land, Water and Housing to provide adequate water supply for sections of his constituency, which he claimedhad been neglected. At that time, communities in St James East Central which were affected by inconsistent water supply included Barrett Town, Orange, Rhyne Park, Rosevale, and Herlock.

Bartlett also outlined several other development projects which are slated to take place in Dumfries and neighbouring communities.

“I am proud to advise that, early in November, we will be opening the new Adelphi Type V clinic, and that is a big item for this area. We will also be opening, hopefully for Christmas, the first mini-stadium in this area in Content; and when you go to Content, you will see it is well in advance and nearing completion,” said Bartlett.

“Also, Minister Olivia Grange will soon come with me to break ground right here in Dumfries for the development of the Dumfries Community and Sports Complex right across from here; and the minister of education [Fayval Williams] and I are working on a science, technology, engineering and mathematics school for Adelphi. We are looking to building back this area because, at one time, the Adelphi and Dumfries area was the number one area in St James.”

Bartlett’s announced plans for Dumfries and neighbouring districts are a combined nod to earlier development plans which were unveiled in 2011, aimed at turning the area into a major satellite town.

That development plan, which was slated to be done at a cost of $2 million, before being shelved in 2012 when the People’s National Party came to power, would have included construction of 100 residential housing lots and 25 commercial sites on 50 acres of land. The revival of that project is expected to be one of the benefits coming from the completion of the Montego Bay Perimeter Road construction.