In a check of the Jamaica Observer online archives one will come upon a story published September 25, 2013 about a seven-year-old boy, Rivaldo Dwyer, who drowned in an open, concrete water catchment tank on Levy Lane in Mandeville.

Reports said the child drowned after attempting to swim in the catchment tank which was in the yard where he lived.

Fast-forward three years and nine months to last Friday, just a few miles away from Mandeville, in the community of Bottom Albion. There we find residents mourning the death of a five-year-old boy, Dwight Jones, who also drowned in an open water catchment tank.

We speak of these two incidents, but we are aware that there have been many similar tragedies down the years. They have occurred most regularly in the numerous communities where the non-existence of piped water provided by the National Water Commission makes rainwater catchment and storage a necessity.

Back in 2013, local leaders in Manchester urged residents to take greater care in securing water tanks in their homes and communities because of the threat, particularly to children.

Back then, councillor of the Mandeville Division, Mr Jones Oliphant (PNP) urged residents to use readily available materials, including bamboo, to provide roofing and barriers over and around tanks and open drains.

“Sometimes it is just the will to do something, just a matter of taking time out. We don’t have to have an excuse (about cost of fencing and covering)…” said Mr Oliphant.

Of course, we know that pleas such as that, while useful, go way over the heads of many people.

Note a comment from the father of last week’s five year-old drowning victim that eight of his other children grew up safely around the open tank and that the child was often warned about the dangers.

From a distance the rest of us wonder: In addition to warning the child, why not also take sensible, practical preventive action?

The instant case reflects the pathetic, crippling inertia and inadequacy of reasoning afflicting large swathes of the Jamaican population.

In the circumstances it seems unrealistic to expect that mere verbal entreaties will suffice.

This newspaper believes that this matter of properly securing rainwater catchment and storage tanks is a public safety issue. If there are no laws currently in place to enforce the safety of such facilities then such laws should be drafted and enforced.

The matter becomes even more urgent because of the push in parishes with chronic water shortages — such as Manchester and St Elizabeth — for residents to help themselves by building water catchment tanks.

In the case of Manchester and St Elizabeth, the parish councils now require that building plans include adequate water catchment and storage capacity. Industrious farmers are also increasingly equipping their farms with rainwater catchment and storage facilities for irrigation. Obviously such irrigation tanks should also be properly protected.

In the context of the many issues affecting good governance and reordering of society, this newspaper’s call for the authorities to pay attention to the securing of water tanks. It may seem trivial to some, but to us, if Jamaicans are to build a safe, prosperous society, at ease with itself, the authorities must pay close attention to how people live at the basic, grass-roots level. For them, even the little things can become a matter of life and death.