COMMUNITY REELING FROM WATER ISSUES
April8, 2024
St Hilda’s High School in Brown’s Town, St Ann, has suspended classes “until further notice” because of a lack of water at the institution that has boarders.
The shutdown comes on the first day of the restart of schools, following the Easter Holidays as Brown’s Town and several surrounding communities continue to suffer from water shortages. The school informed parents and guardians by email on Sunday morning. Boarders would have gone in on Monday and full school resumption would have taken place Tuesday, under normal conditions. However, the school informed the parents that it had been experiencing water problems for the past two months. It said the school would remain closed “until further notice”.
(Closed until ‘further notice’ as the school awaits water)
Meantime, York Castle High, also on the hill in Brown’s Town says it has water in storage. York Castle has been going without water from the distribution main for months. The school said the NWC and private providers deliver water up to three times per week and they have adequate storage tanks.
Some sections of Brown’s Town received water in their pipes last week. However, water problems remain for parts of the town and some residential communities, even after assurances from the NWC following protests on February 19 over water. Protesters then blocked roads into and out of Brown’s Town as residents showed their anger and frustration at the lack of piped water to their homes, at the time, for over two weeks.
Since the protests Brown’s Town and several communities have been relying on trucked water following the failure of the pumps at Minard Deep well facility. A new well is being drilled and pumps acquired but those facilities won’t be ready until between four and six months.
(NWC has been filling drums like these, and black tanks for hundreds normally served by Minard well)
News spread at the weekend that deterioration in supply had imperiled the ability of schools to open, Monday, April 8.
In response, the National Water Commission issued a release on Sunday, March 7. The NWC said it “has implemented interim measures to deliver water to its customers.” The company said, “These measures include revised regulations and also actively trucking of water to critical locations.”
In the release, the NWC said it was “aware of reports concerning schools that have been affected by disruption in regular water supply. This is due to a temporary disruption in service at one NWC facility due to unforeseen technical issues.”
(Water problems still bedevil sections of Brown’s Town following a protest in mid-February)
It said “Immediate action has been taken to ensure uninterrupted water supply to the residents and schools. These customers are being assured that the necessary trucking will be done to ensure that critical institutions that are slated to reopen on April 8, 2024 (Schools, Health Centres, etc.) can have normal operations.”
