TRELAWNY, Jamaica — Bounty Hall residents, who converged on the National Water Commission’s (NWC) Martha Brae treatment plant on Monday after being without piped water for more than four months, have been promised that the much-needed commodity will flow from their taps on Tuesday.

Fed up with what they describe as empty promises, scores of residents blocked entry to the gates, preventing NWC workers from accessing the facility for about three hours.

In Trelawny, the commercial and operational departments of the NWC are based at the Martha Brae facility.

Members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force maintained a strong presence throughout the peaceful protest as irate, placard-waving residents chanted, “We want water!”

One frustrated female demonstrator told OBSERVER ONLINE that about a month ago representatives of the NWC, who hosted a meeting with residents at the Bounty Hall Primary School, promised that water would return to their taps two weeks after the meeting.

“We can’t wash, we can’t clean, we can’t do anything at all,” she said, adding that the Bounty Hall Primary and Infant School had to shutter its doors last week because of water woes.

“Enough is enough and they must stop tell us lies and cock-and-bull stories,” she argued vociferously.

Councillor Jonathon Bartley (Wakefield Division, Jamaica Labour Party) threw his support behind the protest and urged Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation Senator Matthew Samuda and NWC President Mark Barnett to address the issue.

Bartley, a former NWC employee and a resident of Bounty Hall, angrily pointed out that though the community is home to a massive reservoir and sits between two major sources of water — the Queen of Spain Valley and Martha Brae — it has not received piped water for four months.

“It is not a lack of water in the area; it is a lack of proper distribution. Right now, if they go and give us two hours of water from the Martha Brae system into the reservoir, we would have water. They promised that they are going to fill the tank but they haven’t. We don’t have any water and they keep promising us,” the councillor complained.

“We are being served by the Queen of Spain and we get to understand that there is a drought problem down there, which has proven to be true. But there is a system that is called a backup from the Martha Brae plant to us where we can get water. They told us about three weeks ago that there is a leak on the line why we can’t get any water; they can’t pump the backup to us. They say as soon as they fix it, 24 hours after, we would get water,” he said, adding that one week later their pipes were still dry.

Dennis Meadows, who is aspiring to be the People’s National Party caretaker for the Trelawny Northern constituency, also expressed solidarity with protesting residents.

“Every time they have been given promises, it falls through. What you are seeing this morning is a demonstration of frustration on the part of the residents in trying to cope without the precious commodity,” he said.

“You can’t have a community without water for four months upwards. It is unacceptable! And, therefore, I am in support of them in terms of their actions because unfortunately, NWC has, over the years, continued to treat their customers with gross contempt. Every cry for help has been falling on deaf ears. And we need to act now,” Meadows added.

The residents have vowed to continue protesting if the issue is not addressed.

One senior NWC worker, who said he was not authorised to speak to the media, was overheard promising the demonstrators that water will be restored to the area by Tuesday morning.

– HORACE HINES