South St James communities waiting decades for change to water woes
Published:Sunday | March 23, 2025 | 9:39 PMRochelle Clayton - Sunday Gleaner Reporter
Suzette Green’s weekly routine involves doing her family’s laundry under a large tree outside her German Town, St James home, surrounded by five pans and buckets. Water is a scarce resource in the area, so her washing machine is merely a showpiece.
Green, 50, is one of the many thousands of residents in the constituency of St James Southern who have been struggling without potable water inside their homes for decades. Homer Davis of the Jamaica Labour Party currently represents this constituency.
St James Southern is historically believed to be a People’s National Party stronghold; it was formerly held by Upton Robotham, who won the 1976 general election, and Marco Brown in the following 1980 and 1983 elections. Derrick Kellier, another PNP representative, won the constituency in 1989 and last ran in 2016. Kellier is widely known as the ‘seven star general’, having contested and won seven consecutive general elections.
Green told The Sunday Gleaner that a water shortage has plagued her rural community and surrounding areas since the early 1980s. She remembered that when she was a little girl, residents of German Town could get water from a nearby stand pipe. However, the stand pipe is no longer in service, and households must now purchase drinkable water from a water truck or visit the Popkin spring to obtain the resource.
“We usually have water in the pipe, but not every day. We would have a time when it comes, like on a Monday and you nuh get it back until Wednesday. Now we affi go Popkin spring with some kegs or we buy water. Water from the truck is $7,000 to fill a black tank, but if you can’t afford that, you have to carry your kegs to get water.
“I have a shower and I can’t use it. You understand me? I couldn’t tell when last I got a proper shower. A bare bath pan mi a bathe inna. Water is in the tank, but I can’t use it to flush the toilet or wash. I have just reserved it for cooking purposes and drinking,” Green complained.
She went on to say that the water shortage forces her to break her laundry days up into cycles.
“I have a washing machine. I have that to my comfort, but the washing machine takes water and mi nuh have so much water to waste. Mi cya wash everything in one day either. Mi wash sheets on Sunday. Today [Tuesday] mi a wash jeans and a next day again, I am going to wash some light clothes,” said Green.
Similarly, in the Vaughansfield Housing Scheme, retired teacher Vanzie Kennedy told The Sunday Gleaner that he relies significantly on the rainy season for water inside his home. The Vaughansfield Housing Development was constructed by the National Housing Trust between 1976 and 1986. Kennedy noted that he built a tank for his home after relocating to the community in 1980, hoping that the water situation would improve by the 1990s.
However, Kennedy also utilises the Popkin spring during the yearly drought season or purchases water from the trucks. He told The Sunday Gleaner that purchasing water can run up to $18,000, depending on the size of the truck’s load.
“So let’s say based on the size of the truck, you will pay up to $18,000 for one load. That can fill a thousand [gallon tank], plus a 650 one, and a 450. You might also have water left for four drums,” he explained.
Frustrated
Residents in Vaughansfield have reportedly grown frustrated with their decades-long situation and Kennedy stated that many political candidates have used their plight as campaign material over the years.
“We have called them promises that were made on the Plains of Abraham. It is mostly in election time that you hear people coming around wanting to assist us with the scarce commodity,” he said.
At the same time, Sheryl Green, a resident of Flamstead told The Sunday Gleaner that she is grateful for the recent rainfall experienced in her area.
“We got about three days of rain, so everything is full right now. If no rain nuh fall then we affi go hunt at the river. We have some streams nearby, so we go tek up some water fi wash but a Father God we pray pon. If there’s a drought, then we have to buy,” she said.
In 2023, it was announced that roughly 15,000 people would benefit from an investment of $800 million to update the water supply infrastructure in St James Southern, which will be carried out over the next three years, beginning April 1, 2024. While making his contribution to the 2024-2025 Constituency Debate in the House of Representatives last November, Davis, who is also minister of state in the Office of the Prime Minister (West), said this plan was well under way.
Davis also stated that work has begun on the Endeavour Water Supply System, which is being led by the National Water Commission.
“On completion of this project, the residents of Barnett Bush, Springfield, Hampton, Mount Horeb, Fern, Plum and adjoining communities will see a flow of potable water back into their pipelines. The storage facility in Barnett Bush will also be rehabilitated to facilitate the distribution of the commodity to the communities I have named,” Davis said.
Furthermore, Davis shared that the procurement process for the Tangle River/Roper Water Supply System improvement project had also begun. He said pipelines are expected to be laid in communities that have never received piped water in Jamaica’s history.
“Additionally, old pipelines will be replaced in areas such as Tangle River, Maldon, Summer Hill, Flamstead Gardens, Maroon Town, Garlands, German Town, Top Roper, Bottom Roper, Dundee and other areas,” he said. Attempts to gain an update on the work being done were unsuccessful, as calls and messages left on Davis’ phone went unanswered.
In the meantime, Eli Campbell, a resident of Garlands, told The Sunday Gleaner that he is impatiently awaiting the day that potable water flows through his pipes.
“My mother come and gone and she never see water in her pipes. Many, many more people come and gone. And they never saw water inna this area,” Campbell bemoaned.
Campbell’s residence is further away from the Popkin spring, therefore he uses a stand pipe in Niagara, a stone’s throw from the border of St James and St Elizabeth.
“About two weeks ago, mi affi tek up ‘bout 20 jugs and put in the the bus fi go ketch water in Niagara at the border. Mi end up affi go up there and wait because other people were up there a try ketch some water too. We have it rough up here. Tell Mr Andrew Holness say we have it rough up here and him need fi come look,” Campbell said.
Campbell, too, is expecting candidates from the two main political parties to campaign on their water woes in St James Southern; however, he stressed that this issue affects real people in the area.
“They make sure dem nyam one bag of sugar from way back when, so everybody mouth sweet right now. We soon hear say we a go get this and that. My house has a bathroom that I paid to build and I can’t even use the shower. I have to dip up and flash up from a bath pan. Mi get old now and mi soon cya bend,” he complained.