THE EDITOR, Sir:
FOR MORE than 300 years Bermuda, a relatively wealthy nation, has used the rain water cistern systems (RWCS) as a major source for domestic water supply. This system, which is also used in many areas of Australia and the United States, collects direct runoff of rainwater from roofs or other surfaces and conveys it to some form of storage from which it can be drawn for use when needed.
Most cisterns are reinforced concrete tanks with a covered access hatch. The plumbing is similar to that required for any type of water supply and a centrifugal pump pushes the water through the pipes.
Given the desperate need for adequate and dependable sources of water in Jamaica's countryside, a modern rain water cistern system appears to be a workable solution. While preserving the ambience of the countryside, cistern systems offer a private, progressive and inexpensive way in which rural people could access clean water.
Instead of constructing expensive reservoirs or public standpipes, the new government with the stroke of the pen along with financial grants or low-interest loans could modernise rural Jamaica's water infrastructure. Armed with new building codes requiring builders to include a cistern on all new homes/offices and an ultimatum for existing homeowners/building-owners to add cisterns within three years, the days of carrying water on head would be numbered.
I am etc.,
MICHAEL BROWN
Umi_turia@yahoo.com
Washington, DC
Via Go-Jamaica
