Government to spend $350 million on drought mitigation

The Meteorological Service of Jamaica says the current dry conditions being experienced across the island are expected to continue over the next few months, as the Government today announced a $350-million allocation to cushion the impact islandwide.

Speaking at a post-Cabinet press briefing this morning, the agency's Principal Director, Evan Thompson, said that in January 2025, noticeable dryness was observed in all parishes when compared to the 30-year average.

It was noted that between December and January, seven parishes were recorded as experiencing drought conditions.

“In March, we saw a bit more green in the western part of the island… but there are still quite a few brown areas, showing the dry conditions in the east-central parts of the country,” Thompson said.

There was an increase in rainfall in April.

Thompson said that going into next week, significant dryness is expected.

“We are expecting the browns to continue, in terms of dryness persisting over sections of the island through much of July and even into August, with those drier conditions expected to impact our island,” he said.

He added that the 3–6 month outlook indicates dry conditions are expected to persist across eastern parishes, with below-normal rainfall.

Improved conditions are likely in some central and western parishes through to September, as rainfall probabilities are above normal.

However, some dryness is still expected.

For the period October to December, above-normal rainfall is more likely across all parishes.

No impactful drought conditions are expected.

In response to the situation, Matthew Samuda, Minister with responsibility for Water, announced a suite of Government drought mitigation measures totalling $350 million.

“Those measures will include $250 million, which will be executed by the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation. This will include water trucking coordinated through Members of Parliament, accounting for approximately $150 million,” Samuda said.

Another $50 million will be allocated to provide trucking support to the National Water Commission (NWC) to service critical infrastructure, and a further $50 million will go towards the purchase of water tanks.

“We are in a full-on drought,” Samuda stated.

He also noted that an additional $100 million will be spent through the Ministry of Agriculture on drought mitigation efforts for farmers.

“That will be shared among water, trucking, drip irrigation systems, and grass purchases,” Samuda said, adding that Agriculture Minister Floyd Green will provide further details later this week.

Peter Clarke, Managing Director of the Water Resources Authority, speaking on the current water situation, explained that groundwater sourced from wells responds the slowest to a lack of rainfall and dry conditions.

“We can be pretty much assured that our systems served by wells will continue to produce the required amount of water. However, our rivers, springs, and streams are more dependent on rainfall—they are what we call rain-fed. That means they respond more quickly to dry conditions,” Clarke explained.

Garth Jackson, Acting NWC President, said the dry season has affected the Commission’s systems.

“We have about 450 systems operating islandwide, and about 44 of them have been affected in some way by the dry season. Of those, 23 are operating below 50 per cent capacity, while the rest are above that,” Jackson reported.

He added that eastern parishes are more affected, with 40 impacted systems, compared to just three in the west.

In the Corporate Area, the Hermitage Dam is currently at 62.7 per cent capacity—below its caution level of 65 per cent.

As for the Mona Reservoir, it is currently at 50 per cent, also below its caution level of 65 per cent.

Jackson said that restrictions and other contingency measures will be implemented in response to the ongoing dry conditions.

- Andre Williams

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