Jamaica’s Water Crisis Deepens As Drought Continues

KINGSTON, Jamaica – Jamaica’s water crisis is deepening, with 107 of the National Water Commission’s  (NWC) 405 reserve systems dipping into drought territory, even as several parishes continue to face strict water restrictions.

Matthew SamudaBased on this Minister of Water, Environment and Climate Change Matthew Samuda has put Jamaicans on warning for even tighter water restrictions come next week, as the country continues to grapple with worsening drought conditions.

Speaking during Wednesday’s post cabinet press briefing, he said some communities could be getting day-on, day-off supply as the crisis deepens, with rainfall projections for drought-affected parishes looking bleak for the months ahead.

Samuda said his ministry has initiated emergency procurement procedures to purchase 5,000 black water tanks. 

One thousand tanks will go to the early childhood institutions that are engaged with the Early Childhood Commission in the certification process. 

The second thousand will go to Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA)  for distribution amongst our farmers who are critical to food security, “to ensure that their livelihoods are not disrupted beyond what we can give them as additional support,” the minister said.

“The third category for distribution is indeed working with the Ministry of Labour through the disabled communities. We will be providing tanks to households with persons with disabilities who need it, and we’re working on the screening process with the Ministry of Labour.”

According to Samuda, the remaining 2,000 will be distributed based on an assessment between the Water Resources Authority, Rural Water Supply Limited, and the National Water Commission (NWC).

“We are assessing water-safe communities and we are assessing their storage. So one of the challenges we have when we see trucks going into particular communities and see people running out with buckets and jars and all sorts of things is because at the household level they don’t have sufficient storage. So where we’re having some of these challenges in the eastern half of the island, we’ll be going into communities and intervening as best as is humanly possible with the remaining 2,000,” he said, adding that the Government is in the process of installing 100 wayside tanks at strategic locations mainly across eastern Jamaica in response to the ongoing drought.