Earth Today | Every drop counts

FOR YEARS, the deep rural community of Grantham in Clarendon has grappled with water worries – from broken pipes to ageing infrastructure, and a failing tank, coupled with long droughts that have left many families without safe, reliable water.

All of that is now changing, thanks to the Environmental Foundation of Jamaica (EFJ). Through the intervention of the Clarendon Parish Development Committee Benevolent Society, the Grantham community has benefited from a project funded by the EFJ to rehabilitate a 10,000-gallon water tank. The project has resulted in the complete upgrade and repair of the concrete tank and its piping network to ensure sufficient and reliable water supply throughout the community.

General manager of the Clarendon Parish Development Committee Benevolent Society, Eurica Douglas, said the EFJ-funded project has benefitted hundreds of residents.

“We have about 500 persons living along the stretch who needed this improved water supply. This was a very impactful project. We had about 14 persons working on the project with at least three females and one person with a disability. It was a very inclusive project, and we were able to complete the project within the timelines that were given,” she said.

Meanwhile, Darrick Grant, the technical officer working on the Grantham Water Project, noted that the refurbished tank is extremely vital to the community.

“It serves schools, other institutions and residents. I say it’s vital because before the refurbishment of the tank, everyone had to buy water because the flow of water was very irregular. So now they have a more regular flow of water,” he said.

Through funding from the EFJ, the pipe network that feeds the tank with water from the spring was changed from galvanised to PVC pipes. A filtration and chlorination system was also installed.

The community is grateful for the upgrade.

“The galvanised pipes have been outdated and rusty for a long time. So when the residents saw us taking out those pipes and replacing them with PVC pipes, they were happy. And I think it’s a good initiative and I’m happy it came through our group,” noted Michelle Powis, assistant secretary for the Grantham Farmers Group.

With the project completed, residents will now have to play their part and ensure that it’s maintained so that the quality of the water remains up to standard.

“Along with the actual infrastructure work that was done, we did training with the community. Once a community is able to access water, they can look at other aspects of their communities, their livelihoods can be impacted, their educational system, their spiritual development is also impacted, and their health and safety,” Douglas added.