KINGSTON, Jamaica – Approximately 2,000 residents in the Harmons Valley area of Manchester are set to benefit from a multimillion-dollar water project which will supply 60,000 gallons of the commodity daily.

The initiative is a partnership involving the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, and Jamalco, working with the Manchester Parish Development Committee (PDC) and other stakeholders.

It will deliver energy efficient water solutions to residents in eight communities that are impacted by bauxite mining, providing them with more reliable access to the commodity. The communities are John Robinson, New Road, Disgate, Harmons Road, Green Pond, Middle Harmons and Morris Town.

State Minister in the Ministry, Franklin Witter, provided details of the Harmons Valley Water Project during a recent community symposium at Tropics View Hotel in Mandeville.

He said that the project, which involves installation of a solar-powered water pump, construction of a pump house and utility infrastructure, is valued at approximately $327.4 million with an estimated completion date of mid-2026.

Jamaica Alumina Company (Jamalco) is providing the well, which has already been developed.

The state minister urged support for the undertaking from the residents and stakeholder entities such as Rural Water Supply Limited and National Water Commission (NWC).

“This project is centred around the pumping of piped, potable water and it has the potential to transform the lives of approximately 2,000 residents in Harmons Valley. It should not be taken lightly and we should put all efforts into realising this goal of providing water for the people in these communities,” he said.

Witter noted that the Harmons Valley Water Project will provide a sustainable solution to the longstanding problem of unreliable access to potable water.

He commended Jamalco for taking steps to alleviate the challenge by trucking more than one million gallons of the commodity to the communities monthly at a cost of $8.2 million.

“This current system is unsustainable. It fulfills less than 60 per cent of the communities’ daily requirements, so there is urgent need for a solution. This symposium is crucial in addressing these challenges,” he said.

Meanwhile, Chairman of the Manchester PDC, Anthony Freckleton, welcomed the collaboration between the Ministry and Jamalco in completing the project.

With construction of the well completed, he said that the pump station building will be undertaken shortly. Fencing will be done by Jamalco.

The Harmons Valley Water Project will also serve a health centre, several schools and farms in the beneficiary communities.

The symposium was hosted by the Ministry’s Minerals Policy Branch, in collaboration with the Manchester PDC.