Left: Strong arms and a strong heart are needed to get the precious liquid. Right: Considering the long distances some residents have to walk to source water, bad roads in the area don't make life any easier.- Photos by Ricardo Makyn/Staff Photographer

What's not working?

The Clarkes Hill community in St. Andrew is parched. Residents say that they have been enduring severe water problems for years - and the authorities are dragging their feet in granting redress.

The roads in the area are also in a mess, a grouse not uncommon across the country.

Synopsis of situation

Accessing potable water in the upper sections of Clarkes Hill, neighbouring Golden Spring, is an onerous task, not to be undertaken by the weak at heart - or body for that matter. Residents are forced to haul huge buckets to the main standpipe in the community - a gruelling, one-mile-plus journey, depending on where one lives.After reaching the oasis, residents wait in line to fill up their containers before the long trek back home.

One resident, who gave his name as 'Junior', has had it up to the neck with unreliable water service in upper Clarkes Hill. And the once-per-week piped water service just won't cut it.

"Right now we have enough of this. The only time we get piped water is on a Thursday between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. At that time, we have to hurry and bottle up as much water as we need to hold us until the next Thursday," he said. "Sometimes the water that I catch is not enough to hold me for the week, so I have to go bathe a river, but it so far that by the time I reach home, I sweat up back already. "

He continued: "I can't tell the last time I was able to really use my bathroom facilities the way they were intended to be used. Right now, my water tank is dry-rotting because of a lack of water in it. The National Water Commission need to really do a thing for us because water is life, and we hardly have it up here."

Fitzroy Baker, president of the Clarkes Hill Citizens' Association, addressed the issue of road repairs. He said that he had communicated with the Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation (KSAC) on several occasions regarding repairs but was told that the council had no money.

Baker explained that current work being done in the area is as a result of several fundraising events put on by the citizens' association.

"It seems that we are our own government up in Clarkes Hill. We are left to cater to ourselves in areas that are the national Government's responsibility," he said. "KSAC does not have a dollar in any of the road or drain works going on in Clarkes Hill, it's the citizens' association that is paying for that through fundraisers.

"Nobody is concerned with our problems up here and so no one can come up here and persuade us to vote come this election."

Who's responsible?

National Water Commission (NWC) and Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation (KSAC).

What's the status?

Charles Buchanan, corporate communications manager at NWC, said Clarkes Hill's woes stem from insufficient water at the Seaview Treatment Plant, as well as the need for a larger distribution network in Clarkes Hill.

The NWC point man added that money had already been procured to address the problem through a massive project. Buchanan said he was unable to give a timeline for the project's completion but said that once it got off the ground, it should be completed in 12-18 months.

Norman Shand, KSAC city engineer, confirmed that the Clarkes Hill road fell under the council's purview, but said there were no immediate plans to effect repairs. He sought to assure residents that the issue will be reviewed.

Conclusion

Well, from the looks of things, the Clarkes Hill residents may be stuck with their thorns a bit longer. It is good, though, to hear that some steps have been made to correct the water situation in the district. Let's just hope it does not take too long to get started, seeing that the funds are already available. Potable water is a genuine need in the community.

As for the roads, let's hope that when the authorities tackle the problem, that funds will be available to get the ball rolling.

- Written by Marlon Vickerman

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!

Tell us about problems in your community. We will visit and help to lobby for action. Write to: Tyrone Reid, the Gleaner Company Ltd., P.O. Box 40, Kingston; Fax: 922-6223, Telephone: 922-3400 Ext. 6364 or Email: tyrone.reid@gleanerjm.com.

Left: A girl surveys several water-storage containers in Clarkes Hill. Citizens in the rural community bemoan not having a regular supply of potable water.Right: Residents of Clarkes Hill in rural St. Andrew say they only receive water in the community standpipe on Thursdays between the hoursof 10:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.