WESTMORELAND — Despite the laying of pipes, the installation of a pumping station and a reservoir filled with water in Herring Piece, residents in and around that community are still without potable water and are forced to rely on untreated water from springs.

Herring Piece is a small community about five miles from Grange Hill in Westmoreland. The roughly 500 residents in the constituency of Western Westmoreland are represented by minister of state in the tourism ministry, Dr Wykeham McNeil.

The residents charge that although the pipes were laid more than eight months ago, they are still without water.

They maintain that there is water in the line but that they have been unable to get any information from National Water Commission as to why the supply is not available in their homes.

According to them, they are willing to be connected to the water system and all they need is information about the connection process.

But councillor of the Grange Hill Division, Marcus Whyte, in whose division the affected communities are situated, said the NWC was in the process of getting the residents connected.

However, Whyte was unable to supply a timeframe for when they would get piped supply of the commodity.

Residents also complained that the Rapid Response Truck that takes water to the community was tardy, sometimes visiting only once a month.