When the Jamaica Observer visited the St Catherine West Central community last Friday residents expressed that the issue has been a long-standing one that is costing some of them more than $60,000 per month.
“I pay $21,000 every nine days for water.
I have to buy three truckloads of water, each at $7,000, every nine days to fill five tanks in order to be comfortable and operate my business,” said Neville Grant of N&D Farms in Dover district, Kitson Town.
Others without the income suffer bad, and from time to time will turn up with their buckets and ask for water, and I help out as best as I can,” Grant said.
However, this improved the water situation for only some areas in Kitson Town.
Today, running water is still not a reality for several areas of Kitson Town — including districts like Fletcher, Dover, Cherry, Content, Cottage, and Long Hill — that are now bearing the burden of being without a constant supply of the essential commodity.
Sometimes you call the truck for days and it doesn’t come on time.
Frissilla Lindsay, who also resides in Fletcher district, said she has been living in the area for more than 20 years and for the majority of the period she has been without piped water.
“I was born in 1948 and growing up we had piped water, but we have to be buying it now and it’s so funny that now, in modern times, we are not better off.
From I use water and am told this is what I consume, I don’t have a problem paying [an NWC] bill,” she continued.