Member of Parliament for St Andrew West Rural, Juliet Cuthbert-Flynn is concentrating her efforts on resolving the chronic, decades-long water problem in her constituency.

That problem sees communities like Lawrence Tavern and others going for days and weeks at a time without piped water.

The two-term MP is banking on the $800 million Essex Hall Water Supply Scheme which is underway to solve the longstanding problem. She told the House of Representatives during her contribution to the State of the Constituency Debate last week that when completed, the Esex Hall Scheme will go a far way in alleviating the problem.

“On completion of this Essex Hall Water Supply Scheme, it is expected to produce 0.75 million imperial gallons of potable water per day and serve a population of 15,000 to 20,000 persons in the communities of Essex Hall, Salisbury Plain, Border, Unity, Lawrence Tavern, Claypole District, Burnt Shop, Content, Cavaliers, Pinto, and Lacey Water to all communities must be a priority for sustainable development,” said Cuthbert-Flynn.

“I look forward to more communities being upgraded with larger pipelines and consistent water supply and I commend this Government and the National Water Commission’s (NWC) efforts in doing so,” said the Minister of State in the Ministry of Health and Wellness.

Cuthbert-Flynn said it was “no secret that my constituency suffers from major water woes including frequent water lock-offs for days and even months and with communities simply not having access to the commodity at all”.

She noted that in some instances, residents have been without piped water for upwards of 30 years.

“Since I was elected in 2016, I have made sure that a priority of mine is getting the people the access that they deserve, to this commodity”.

Cuthbert-Flynn said that among the ongoing measures to address the problem are the upgrading of the pump house in Cavaliers and the impending purchase of a new tank for the Cavaliers district.

Additionally, a new tank will be purchased for Mount Airy, which will serve residents there and in surrounding areas like Mt Prospect, Mt James, New Garden, and Mountain Spring.

“I am happy to also state that we will be seeing the upgrading of pipelines in the areas of Padmore and Lacy. There has been great effort by the NWC to upgrade pipelines across the constituency, as well as a focus on the metering of new customers and I welcome these efforts,” Cuthbert-Flynn said.