Lucea pipeline-replacement project under way

Christopher Bodden, Gleaner Writer

WESTERN BUREAU:The groundbreaking ceremony for the Lucea Pipeline-Replacement and Non-Revenue Water-Reduction Project took place last Thursday at Elgin Town in Hanover.

The project is being implemented by the National Water Commission (NWC) in a bid to improve water supply to the parish by reducing wastage resulting from badly leaking pipelines and theft.

At a projected cost of US$12.6 million, the project will facilitate the construction of a new 20-inch transmission pipeline through Lucea to allow water from the Great River Treatment Plant to supply all areas along the corridor leading to Green Island.

The scope of work will see, among other things, 6,000 metres of pipelines being laid from Elgin Town to West Avenue and the 4,000 metres of distribution pipelines over the same area, construction of chambers, and inter-connections.

The project, which is being carried out by Vinci Construction Grands Projects, is expected to be completed within six months. Approximately 100 persons are expected to be employed under the project, which should see improved water supply to areas such as Elgin Town, Lucea, Kew, Clifton, Askenish, Dias, Cacoon, Middlesex, Medley, and Green Island.

In his keynote address, Minister of Water, Land, Environment and Climate Change, Robert Pickersgill, said the existence, maintenance, and sustainability of reliable and efficient potable water supply systems rely on expensive, expansive, and often complex water-supply networks that require an abundance of freshwater reserves.

"The distribution challenges faced by this system as a result of ageing pipelines serve to exacerbate source challenges from the Logwood and Great River systems," he said.

"Our motto, Land of Wood and Water, is sometimes misinterpreted to infer that there has been and always will be water. Indeed, with growing populations and vastly multiplying needs, the management of our water resources will benefit all our citizens in the immediate and long term," Pickersgill said.