NEGRIL, Hanover — Stakeholders in Negril, one of the areas worst impacted by the current dry weather, remain unimpressed by the Government’s recently announced plans to address the chronic water shortage now being felt in a number of western parishes.

On Monday minister without portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation Senator Matthew Samuda outlined a raft of measures being implemented to ease disruptions to businesses, residents and schools.

However, president of the Negril Chamber of Commerce Elaine Allen Bradley said they had heard some of those promises before. Others have suggested that Negril should be declared a water disaster zone so that urgent attention can be provided.

“[Samuda] talks but we need to see the action right now. I know what he said about bringing water from Great River. Now, apparently, some of the pipes are already laid and that’s been talked about for years and they have done nothing to address it. What I would like to know, now that he is talking about it, is it going to be for real? Is it going to happen or is it just another talk?” Allen Bradley questioned.

She told the Jamaica Observer that the residents and business operators in the resort area are willing to accept any action that will ensure their pipes have water flowing in them.

On Monday, acting president for the National Water Commission (NWC) Kevin Kerr told a press briefing that the commission would be doing maintenance aimed at de-silting pipelines so that more water can be sent from the Great River Water Treatment Plant in Hanover — near the St James border — into Hanover. He said that would allow for one million gallons per day to be sent into Green Island. Kerr said such a move will allow the Logwood Treatment Plant, also in Hanover, to focus on sending more water into sections of Westmoreland including Whitehall, Red Ground and Negril.

However, Negril resident Lenbert Williams has suggested another way of addressing the issue.

“We believe that Mr Matthew Samuda must find a way around the procurement guideline. Like, for example, declare Western Jamaica — Negril and part of Hanover — a water disaster zone and use the military to lay the pipelines and start doing it, now,” he suggested in an interview with the Observer.

For her part, Allen Bradley is also asking the Government to speed up plans to expand the Roaring River Treatment Plant.

“We want them to do the pipes and get water into Negril. However, the way they do it, it has got to be urgent also, they need to look at the Roaring River project,” she said. “We are not short of water. It’s the ineffectiveness of NWC. That is why we are in crisis, because NWC is not an effective manager to get water into our homes,” she stated.

Plans are in place to upgrade the Roaring River Water Treatment Plant and to integrate the Cabarita River, Venture River and Roaring River water sources in Westmoreland together.

The project will see the construction of a dedicated facility in the River Water Treatment Plant to supply Negril alone. While the capital cost for the project is high, the Government is said to be giving it serious consideration due to Negril’s growth.

Williams told the Observer that businesses are suffering because of Negril’s water woes.

“For many people in Negril, they have lost anywhere between 13 and 20 per cent of business over last year and this equates to millions of dollars,” he said.

“We believe that there is more than enough water to go around if it is done equitably and done fairly and done without the interference from the trucks…We need to focus now on getting more water in the pipes rather than looking at the extremely long term,” Williams urged.

Residents and hotels have often lamented the high cost of private suppliers trucking water to their premises. During a community meeting in Negril in February, the NWC had said the manipulation of its network was suspected.

With Princess Hotel, which will be one of Jamaica’s largest, currently under construction in Green Island, Allen Bradley and Williams are calling for the property to source water for construction. They said this would allow for more of the domestic product to be distributed to residents.

“We are demanding of the minister to use his power and to start focusing on the people. We can’t sideline the people because, at the end of the day, the people are the greatest assets,” stated Williams.

During Monday’s press briefing at his Dominica Drive office in St Andrew, Samuda had indicated that there will be a push to increase water storage, particularly for schools and businesses in Hanover and Westmoreland, over the next four weeks.

“Schools are paramount, and we do not intend to cause any learning loss,” he said.

Samuda also said he understood the frustration faced by business operators in the west, including the hotel sector that is anticipating peak occupancy leading up to the USA’s Memorial weekend in May.

“I want to assure the hotel sector that I met with Mr Kerr earlier this morning and there is a safety net that will be put in place to ensure that hotels from western St James, all the way into western Westmoreland at the tip of the West End, will be protected and their business will not be disrupted,” the minister assured.