Dry pipes crippling Claremont

Decades of suffering from a lack of water in household taps and the abandonment of the community catchment tank has been adding to the frustration of residents living in the hills of Claremont district, in Hanover.

Residents poured out their concerns about the lack of water to the WESTERN STAR during a recent visit. 

“Nuh care how we deh plead, nuh water,” said Jacqueline Perry as she lashed the political representatives who have represented the community which is located in East Hanover.

“All of them is just pure promises and nothing. You only see them when is election time but as soon as it done that’s it. ... We have to stand up on our own feet and battle it out ourselves,” the shopkeeper added.

Perry said the harvesting of rain water and chartering of vehicles to transport water from a stand pipe located near Lucea, are the main ways in which residents get water.

Resident say they spend upwards of a $1,000 each trip to charter vehicles to transport water and up to $4,000 to buy water from trucks.

“We have it hard. We want water in the community more than anything. We need somebody to come and do something because we not hearing anything from the Member of Parliament (MP) or the authorities,” Georgette Gray. 

Barbara Spence told the WESTERN STAR that if repairs are made to an abandoned water tank in the area, life would be better for residents.

“The catchment tank used to supply the community with water,” said Spence. “I believe that if they fixed it then it could supply Claremont and even Jericho. If they fixed it today it would help because instead of people having to pay taxi to go catch water, they could just come here so to get water,” said.