ALEXANDRIA, St Ann — Over the years, the Aabuthnott Gallimore High School has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to ensure that it has water and that classes at the institution are not disrupted due to a lack of the commodity.

According to the school’s principal, Geoffrey Sharpe, the money spent could have been used in other areas of development; and as a result, the commissioning of a rainwater harvesting system, at the institution last Friday, marked a welcomed joy for the school.

The rainwater harvesting system was commissioned by both the Minister of Land, Water, Environment and Climate Change Robert Pickersgill and Minister of Education Ronald Thwaites, at the institution in Alexandria, St Ann.

Excited students, teachers, and board members were among the many persons who attended a ceremony to commission the system. The occasion was also used to celebrate the school’s 40th anniversary.

The songs of celebration at the beginning of the ceremony indicated the joy of the school family for the assistance that they have received from Rural Water Supply Ltd in addressing the water crisis which often faces the institution.

Sharpe said that those who have experienced the shortage of water at the facility “can understand the tremendous joy a water harvesting system brings to the school.

“Our storage always falls short”, he explained, adding that the school was faced with shortage of water in the past, as the community is not supplied by the National Water Commission, and catchment at the institution was inadequate.

“Today we have cause to celebrate … we want to express our gratitude for what we consider our 40th anniversary gift,” an excited Sharpe stated, adding that the water supply had given the school a lifeline.

“We are happy for the investment,” school board chairman Rev Omar Oliphant said.

“The expense of bringing water to the school, especially in the drought periods, is alarming,” he went on.

Pickersgill said that the project was implemented at a cost of roughly J$3.6 million.

“The rainfall will be harvested from concrete slab rooftops and stored in two four 1,000-gallon steel tanks as well as an existing 100,000 gallon circular steel tank,” Pickersgill said.

He further stated that work included the construction of a concrete tank base, the installation of a water-retaining parapet wall on top of three buildings, and the waterproofing of concrete slab roofs with waterproofing compound.

The Aabuthnott Gallimore High is the third rural school in Jamaica to have the rainwater harvesting system implemented at the facility by the Rural Water Supply Ltd. The other two schools are Chatsworth Primary and Maldon High, both located in South St James.

Thwaites said that the Ministry of Education spends several millions yearly to provide electricity and water for the schools, and so the implementation of water harvesting systems in schools was a huge step to reducing that bill.

“We need to harvest it and conserve it in every way possible,” he stated.

Pickersgill, who also encouraged the students to conserve water, said that the project should be replicated in schools islandwide.

While studies have shown that Jamaica has enough water to meet the needs of the population, he said, “It cannot be business as usual in terms of our water supply.

“The truth is that the supply of water is fixed, meaning that the volume of water that we have in our rivers, streams and underground aquifers is not increasing; meanwhile, our population is growing.”

With the same volume of water expected to serve not just homes, but all industries, “if we are not careful to manage what we have, our supply could easily run out”, he added.

He went on to point out that most of the island is now experiencing drought conditions, forcing the NWC to take measures such as lock-offs.

“For the parishes that have been badly hit by the drought we have been working with the parish councils to truck water,” Pickersgill said.