RESIDENTS in Castleton, St Mary, say for years they have been left to rely on the Wag Water River which flows through the community to carry out daily household activities as they have been “abandoned” by their political representatives.

Residents were seen doing their laundry as well as taking baths along the banks of the river when the Jamaica Observer North & East team visited the rural community last Wednesday.

The residents who spoke with Observer North & East explained that they have been operating for years without the basic commodity in their homes.

“We nuh have nuh water. A dung a riverside we affi go. We wash down there; we bathe and do everything down there. Mi love the river water, but mi cyah drink it. A road mi affi come, come catch it. We need a proper water system in place so that water can go up on the hill. A whole heap a years now we have this problem — from mi live ya nearly 50 years,” Angela Stephenson lamented.

She added that she was not optimistic that anything would change, noting that “the promises have been coming for years”.

Another resident, Greg Campbell, said the water woes in the community have persisted because of a lack of proper development in the area.

“The catchment gone. We nuh have nuh form of water storage. I was born and raised here and it’s long time we dealing with this. Maybe the reason why the problem develop now is because di population grow and the water now affi share fi more people.

“Nobody don’t reason it out seh if more people coming in, we affi develop the thing so that we nuh end up short,” Campbell reasoned.

For Pearly McCubbin, the community has grown used to the lack of running water. According to her, residents have been left “like Alice in Wonderland”.

The woman shared that many in the community have been forced to rely heavily on tanks to get by on a daily basis.

“A long time we a have this problem and nobody nuh come do nothing at all. There’s nobody to represent us. Most of us have to rely on tanks. So when the water come we full up we tanks and drums. But we affi head to the river fi washing and bathing. But when the river dirty we can’t do it; we have to wait until the river clean. When rain fall heavy and it come down a problem fi we. It’s a bad situation.

“We nuh have nobody fi represent we, nobody at all. And who dem seh a the MP, (Member of Parliament) you don’t even see him face, Mr [Winston] Green. From him win HIM election him nuh walk back through the constituency. We just leave like Alice inna wonderland — nobody don’t business with we,” McCubbin stressed.

Another resident who shared the same view but asked not to be named, expressed frustration with the inaction of those in charge.

“Mi not even want talk ’bout this water thing, believe mi girlfriend. A years we a deal with this and nothing naah change. People come promise and all now, you see it? A di river we depend ‘pon straight. Government and MP nuh business ’bout ya suh,” the resident fumed.