LUCEA, Hanover — The shortage of water in the resort town of Negril reached crisis level on Wednesday with hoteliers scrambling to get supplies from the limited number of water trucks in the area.

President of the Negril Chamber of Commerce Richard Wallace told the Jamaica Observer that while several hotels have water tanks on property, the level of occupancy will determine how long supplies last.

“Water is running out now and it is a dire situation here,” he said.

“Right now people have to be turning to water trucks and it’s a rat race for the water trucks now because there is only a certain amount available in Negril. The larger hotels have them on contract so the smaller hotels have to be waiting their turn,” explained Wallace who is himself a hotelier.

“It is going to be really bad if it goes on beyond today,” he added.

Negril is shared by the parishes of Hanover and Westmoreland with the larger hotels in the former parish, while the smaller ones and the town centre are in Westmoreland.

As the impact from day two of a strike by employees of the National Water Commission (NWC) began to deepen, Wallace chided NWC staff.

“We understand that the NWC workers want better salaries. We understand that, but holding the country hostage… I would have preferred if they had gone about it differently because what they are doing is hurting a lot of people,” he said.

He also urged the Government to treat the issue with the priority that it deserves and quickly identify a solution so that things may return to normal.