DUE to uncertainty of adequate rainfall for the rest of 2023, Senator Matthew Samuda, minister without portfolio with responsibility for water, environment and climate change, has appealed to Jamaicans to halt excess watering of lawns and car washing.

“We are pleading with citizens to be circumspect with their use of the precious commodity at this time. We are asking you to desist from watering lawns and desist from washing cars for now. What is clear is that the climate is indeed changing. Our weather patterns have indeed shifted. Just this morning I saw an article that said even trade in the Panama Canal is now being affected because of drought. The lakes that supply the fresh water in that space [are] lower than normal. Jamaica is not being spared. We can expect longer periods of intense drought,” Samuda said on Wednesday during a post Cabinet press briefing at the Office of the Prime Minister in St Andrew.

According to Samuda, it is because Government is aware of the plight, why it has been investing in water infrastructure at an unprecedented rate.

“This is targeted at improving resilience and the capacity of the varying agencies, and we are working around the clock to ensure this is realised. It is important to note that the National Water Commission (NWC) added eight new trucks to its fleet to facilitate the resilience by increasing trucking capacity. This year, the NWC will purchase a further eight and that will bring our fleet to about 32. Trucking is always done in times of crisis. It is the least efficient method of getting water to people,” Samuda added.

Samuda highlighted that numerous communities are disproportionately affected and pointed out that Government will do what it can to mitigate the effects of drought for the people who are already at a disadvantage.

“It is well-known and documented that there are communities that are affected by not being within the utility footprint. They don’t have reliable water from rainwater harvesting efforts or through the springs that they draw from. With the current rainfall levels, there will be further impact on small systems, many of which are run by municipalities and several of which are done at a community level.

“It is for this reason the Prime Minister Andrew Holness, in his budget speech, announced that 50,000 black tanks will be made available to citizens in areas most in need over the next three years. We have updated the country that 13, 000 of these tanks will begin to be distributed in July. These tanks will not just be given out, but it will be accompanied by the correct guttering to facilitate rainwater harvesting and we will be facilitating training of community individuals to do installation and providing a stipend to them in partnership with the HEART/NSTA Trust and the Housing, Opportunity, Production and Employment Programme.

Samuda highlighted that the NWC, just last year, invested $4 billion to put in infrastructure across the island. According to him, that allowed the NWC to keep supplying water despite declining rainfall.

“There are two projects I want to highlight. Last year December we signed a contract for the development of a water treatment plant in Content, St Catherine. Construction of this plant will commence in July. It will provide 15 million gallons of water to the Corporate Area daily. When complete, if we have a serious drought, we will not have water supply disruption in Kingston and St Andrew.

“This is a major national investment. The non-revenue water programme, which started in 2015, cut leaks from 71 per cent to 38 per cent. In 2015, Kingston was using 50 million gallons per day. Before this drought started, Kingston was using 35 million gallons of water per day. That means we stopped the leakage and theft of 15 million gallons a day. It was for this reason [that] we didn’t have lock-offs at Christmas and why we didn’t start with strict measures in January.”

Evan Thompson, director of the Meteorological Service of Jamaica, said the island has “really been in a severe drought situation”. Thompson shared that in October last year, the time of year when Jamaica would normally experience roughly 235 millimetres of rain, it only received 185 millimetres.

“It got worse in November where 176 millimetres would be normal, but we experienced 118. Going into December, normally it would drop to about 115 millimetres of rainfall but we actually received 57 millimetres. In January, that is when it got more critical, because the usual average is about 103 millimetres and what we experienced in Jamaica was only 33 millimetres, just about a third of what is normal.

“Our concern is what we are expecting going forward. The period April to June usually marks the early wet season. May is usually the peak of our secondary rainfall season and so we look forward to more rainfall. Rainfall amounts are expected to increase as we go into May. May is the secondary rainfall peak and we can look forward to an increase in rainfall as we go into May,” Thompson said.