Dear Editor,

The Trinityville area in St Thomas comprises lush communities with many rivers, streams, and picturesque views of the Blue Mountains. It is an agrarian community for the most part and a prime area for ecotourism and community tourism, but residents of Trinityville are afflicted by one major problem — the lack of running water in their pipes.

I have to underscore the fact that this problem is quite oxymoronic in nature because within the Trinityville area there are multiple rivers, ranging from the Sulphur River in Moffat to the Cock Gut River in Trinityville, then there is the Morgan’s River in Somerset, the Palmetto River in Font Hill, and the famous Negro River which runs through Mount Lebanus and joins with the Yallahs River.

While this list is not exhaustive of the water sources that exist in this region, I am certain it highlights the fact that for people to be having water problems amounts to a lack of proper infrastructure and gross negligence on the part of the representatives in the area.

In recent times the National Water Commission (NWC) published a schedule for trucking water to the area. This is a Band-Aid approach to the issue, and NWC has failed miserably so far to stick to the established schedule.

This has led to many challenges, including the schools in the area being unable to function properly because of inadequate water supply.

What the Trinityville area needs is proper water infrastructure. Infrastructure is the foundation of high-quality water systems. We have seen, for example, in Somerset that every time it rains heavily the pipes are washed away. This would suggest that a different technique needs to be employed. The area needs a good reservoir and modern industrial pipes for transporting water.

We are now living in an age when people are moving forward, but while the NWC boasts “Water is life”, the people of Trinityville cannot enjoy life when access to running water remains a daily challenge.

The time has now come for representatives to step to the fore and address this most critical issue. The people are depending on it.

Kimberley Thompson

kimberlythompson81@yahoo.com