Water supply comes to Sherwood Content ... but residents sceptical

Karrie Williams, Gleaner Writer

WESTERN BUREAU:

One month after a piped water supply system was established in Usain Bolt's childhood community of Sherwood Content in Trelawny, residents say they are happy but are still sceptical about how long the service will remain.

''They had water during the Christmas period and water is now still in the pipes. I don't know how long it will stay for because sometimes it comes for two or three months and then it gone. But apparently, they say they have sourced a new pump, which is reliable, so I hope that the water will not go away this time round," Wellesley Bolt, father of Usain Bolt, told Western Focus.

Shopkeeper Sharon Lawrence who, in an interview with Western Focus in August 2013, said residents had been waiting for consistent water supply to come to the community since the 1980s, is cautiously upbeat.

"We have water from December until now. I don't know how long it is going to go for, but at the moment, we are glad for it. I hope it is here to stay and not (only for) two days because that is what always happens here," she said.

"For the past 20 years, whenever we do get it, we get it like one week, and that's it. At the moment, Duanvale don't have any and they are coming over here for water, so our blessing is helping others. We thank those who were responsible and hope it's here to stay," Lawrence added.

Councillor's explanation

When contacted, councillor for the Sherwood division, Telka Holt, sought to explain why there was a protracted wait for water to return to the community.

"Having had the funding from Red Stripe and having had the contractor coming in and having the work done, of course, there were some challenges because of turbidity problems and also because there were some faults in some of the lines. Water was not pumping as far as we would want it to because filters were blocked, and so forth," Holt said.

"Yes, the citizens will be happy now and will also have concerns about what's going to happen later, but as long as the rain continues to fall, we will have some points when we have to turn it (water) off because it will just be mud coming up along with the water, which will block the filter and, therefore, create more problems," explained Holt.

She pointed out that she was in the process of trying to work out suitable alternatives via the member of parliament aimed at preventing frequent future lock-offs to the water-supply system.

Currently, Sherwood Content's water supply comes from the Martha Brae River. It goes into a secure catchment tank located in the community. The water is then fed from the tank into the pipelines.

However, at least one resident is expressing some concerns about the current upkeep of the catchment tank.

"Parish council had it and used to clean it, but from Water Commission tek over, they have been neglecting the upkeep. Look at it! Look at the whole heap a bush. The NWC need to come and clean it because it used to clean when parish council was in control of it," Haughthonell James said.