LUCEA, Hanover — Lucea Mayor Sheridan Samuels has issued an appeal to political representatives to help residents of the parish who are being impacted by the current drought.

“It is really a crisis out there. The communities are really suffering. I have never seen it like this before,” Samuels said at the monthly meeting of Hanover Municipal Corporation last Thursday.

Pointing out that the parish has several water sources, Samuels called on National Water Commission to say what are its long- and short-term plans to address the issue.

“We are very concerned that the situation, if not controlled with proper mitigation measures, could devastate the local economy,” stated Samuels.

He said the municipal corporation has received limited funding from the Ministry of Local Government which will be used, as best as possible, to truck water to affected areas.

The municipal corporation currently operates several minor water supply systems across the parish, and the mayor said that while they are performing well, all will be done to ensure their efficiency.

“I can safely say to you that the supplies that we are using now are more effective than what the National Water Commission is doing as it relates to providing potable water to residents — so without our minor water source the parish would be more devastated and we would be seeing a lot of suffering going on in other areas,” Samuels said.

Deputy Mayor Andria Dehaney Grant, who is also a school principal, concurred.

“There are schools that are having challenges and have to close because of [no] water. We have households with food to cook but children and relatives go to bed without food because they have no water to prepare it,” she said.

“There are so many cries around our parish, and I think that it is going to reach the stage where our people are going to march on the streets,” added Dehaney Grant who argued that people are getting high bills despite the lack of piped water.

She said that a comprehensive water plan is needed as the trucking of water and the handing out of black tanks alone cannot help.

Samuels, who is a member of the People’s National Party, called on Jamaica Labour Party Members of Parliament Tamika Davis (Hanover Western) and Dave Brown (Hanover Eastern) to do their part.

“I am going to call upon the National Water Commission again and the Members of Parliament — central government representatives at that level — to get on board and step up and do their work, because we at the local level have been doing our work,” stated Samuels.