STEWART TOWN, Trelawny — Member of Parliament for Trelawny Southern Marisa “Mama D” Dalrymple-Philibert is banking on the National Water Commission (NWC) to keep its promise that, by New Year’s Day water will flow from taps in Stewart Town and surrounding areas.

NWC customers served by the Barnstaple Deep Well have been without water for about a month.

“There is a problem with water supply in Stewart Town because the pump that is located in Barnstaple was removed in late November and it has [now] been repaired. I have been advised that by Wednesday they [NWC] should be able to reinstall that pump and water should be regularised,” Dalrymple-Philibert told the Jamaica Observer on Monday.

“It is regrettable because water is life and we are all conscious of the situation and the Water Commission is doing everything it can to respond to the situation,” she added.

She noted that, in the meantime, the NWC has been trucking water to the affected areas.

Dalrymple-Philibert, who expressed sympathy for residents’ plight, said Government is now moving to implement a system that should minimise the impact of faulty pumps.

“Some of them are old but the Government has been conscious of it and I have been advised that approval was given in early December for a new programme where pumps are being procured so that they can be stored as replacement pumps. When a pump breaks down or something goes wrong, the Water Commission will have one to replace it,” she disclosed.

The MP was asked to comment on a demand made on Sunday by Paul Patmore, the People’s National Party caretaker for Trelawny Southern, for immediate action from the Government and the NWC to resolve what he described as a water crisis in Stewart Town.

“For years, residents had grown accustomed to receiving water at least twice weekly. However, during the recent by-election campaign, water supply temporarily improved to daily service. That relief was short-lived. Since November 24, the day after the election, the taps have run dry, leaving families struggling to meet even their most basic needs. The abrupt halt in water supply has heightened concerns over health, sanitation, and quality of life in the community,” Patmore said in a press release.

He expressed frustration on behalf of residents.

“The people of Stewart Town have shown incredible patience, but enough is enough. It’s unacceptable that the community has been abandoned without a consistent water supply after the elections. Access to water isn’t a privilege — it’s a fundamental human right,” Patmore said.

However, Dalrymple-Philibert countered that the interruption in the water supply had nothing to do with the by-election.

“There are one or two times because of reasons — because a pump breaks down, some mechanical reasons there might be a surge in electricity, something happens — and we are without water and it is distressing,” she told the Observer.

“When you are without, anywhere you are, it is a distressing situation. I empathise with it, I understand it is distressing, and we are doing all that we can, as we should. We should do it, we are doing it and we apologise and ask the persons to bear with us as we sort the problem out,” she added.