OCHO RIOS, St Ann — Efforts are underway to alleviate water woes faced by residents of Exchange, St Ann, by the end of the year.

Ground was broken for the $16-million Lancewood Pipeline Extension project last Friday with the target for completion within three months.

“We are aiming to have the project completed by year end, December 31,” acting corporate public relations manager at the National Water Commission Delano Williams told the Jamaica Observer on Monday.

That will be good news for Delroy Malcolm who complained of low water pressure during last week’s ground-breaking ceremony.

“[I] feel good man cause water a life,” Malcolm told the Observer at the event.

“We have water in pipe but the pressure low, so now we can get better pressure,” added Malcolm.

Valnie Elliot, who also spoke about the same challenge, was just as enthusiastic as Malcolm at the prospect of improvements to the water supply they receive.

Palsie Rose has not experienced those challenges herself but said she is familiar with the complaints from residents of Lancewood. She believes the issue stems from a failure to have infrastructure keep up with the pace of development.

“I know people here that not getting no water, because the water pressure is not high enough, and the place develop a lot, so they need more water,” Rose said.

The project is part of a larger initiative to improve water supply across the country.

Speaking during the ground-breaking ceremony, Prime Minister Andrew Holness noted that the Lancewood initiative is among several that the Government is rolling out to provide a better water supply for the country.

“I believe most Jamaicans are seeing that this Administration is capable of fulfilling the expectations for water; indeed, we are making the investments in water. So I understand the complaints, I understand new demands for water,” he said.

The prime minister pointed out that these efforts are in line with global goals.

“It is really aligned to what Government has signed on to in our National Development Plan, which aligns with United Nations Sustainable Development Goal number six, [which says] that the people of your country, the vast majority of your population, should have universal access to potable, safe drinking water,” he explained.

“About 90 per cent of the Jamaican population has access to potable water, [but] by now [it] should be at 100 per cent who should have access to potable water,” he added.

He spoke of the importance of maintaining the Lancewood system when it is completed.

“The NWC over the years suffered from significant water loss, because we were not maintaining the systems, and, of course, there is the problem of the illegal abstraction of water, and then we have climate change. So sources that we have developed for water are no longer supplying the quantity,” said the prime minister.

“What the average Jamaican has not connected yet in their head is that for the last 40 years, because we had a poor economy, we were not able to make the investments we wanted,” he added.