Mayor calls for urgent drainage overhaul as Spanish Town faces flooding crisis
Published:Friday | March 28, 2025 | 12:06 AMRuddy Mathison/Gleaner Writer
As Spanish Town prepares for a major cleanup campaign on Sunday, Mayor Norman Scott is renewing his call for a comprehensive overhaul of the town’s drainage system to combat persistent surface flooding.
Scott, who has faced ongoing criticism from residents and business owners over the town’s inadequate drainage, insists that a long-term solution is urgently needed.
Speaking at a ceremony at the municipal building on Wednesday, where he presented a $500,000 cheque to the Seventh-day Adventist Church Central Jamaica Conference youth ministries for their ‘Operation Save a Youth’ cleanup campaign, Scott emphasised the need for a large-scale intervention similar to those in the Corporate Area.
“From time to time, you will see that the town is inundated with water, and that is not something the municipality has control over because the drains are the responsibility of the National Works Agency,” he stated.
Scott noted that regular maintenance is the only thing preventing even worse flooding.
“If I weren’t cleaning those drains weekly, I can’t imagine what would happen. We have to continuously clear areas like Willington Street, Cumberland Avenue, Burke Road, and Ffrench Street to prevent silt buildup, which contributes to surface flooding whenever it rains,” he added.
MULTIFACETED APPROACH
The mayor expressed disappointment that Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness, a Spanish Town native, has not engaged him in discussions about the town’s drainage crisis.
“I initiated a meeting with the prime minister to discuss this issue and other problems. While some road improvements have resulted from our discussions, I would have hoped he would have sent his team to meet with us and assess the drainage situation,” Scott said.
A previous estimate for a proper drainage system in Spanish Town was $35 million, but Scott believes the cost would now be in the billions. He proposed a multifaceted approach to channelling water from Willington Street, Burke Road, and Oxford Road into the Rio Cobre.
Scott also pointed out that the Town Gully drain, originally designed to serve all of Spanish Town, is now inadequate. He criticised a proposed drainage fix by the NWA near the Green Acres Police Station and vowed to scrutinise any new housing developments in the area before granting permits.
“Unless there is a comprehensive realignment of the drainage system that can accommodate stormwater from Kitson Town, I cannot approve such a permit,” Scott declared.