Government moves to keep schools supplied with water

With schools across Jamaica facing water shortages as the new academic year gets underway, the Government says it has activated its drought protocols to ensure students are not left high and dry.

Education and Youth Minister Dana Morris Dixon says the National Water Commission (NWC) and private water truckers are being deployed to schools where supplies are running low.

Speaking at the Twinning Ceremony for Hydel High School and Cumberland High School, Morris Dixon said the Government has been preparing for the possibility of drought and has an established system for getting water to schools in need.

“We meet routinely with the National Water Commission and Minister Somnuda would have gotten from Cabinet some additional funds to help with trucking of water,” she said.

Morris Dixon said schools are at the top of the list of entities benefiting from water deliveries, with the NWC sending out trucks over the weekend to replenish schools whose tanks were running low.

“On the weekend, we were able to get from the schools those that had issues where their tanks were low and so on. And so over the weekend, NWC was out in their numbers delivering water to schools,” she said.

The minister said the response also covers schools that are not connected to the NWC, particularly those in rural areas.

“What the Ministry has done is to contract with private truckers so that they can truck to the schools,” she explained.

Under the system, principals work with their regional offices to indicate when their schools are running low on water, after which the Ministry prioritises the schools requiring deliveries.

Morris Dixon said the same protocols apply to boarding schools, which will receive water more frequently because of their needs.

But the Government is also looking beyond the immediate water shortages.

As part of the rebuilding of schools, particularly those damaged in western Jamaica, Morris Dixon said greater emphasis is being placed on water storage and conservation.

“We have to do much more in terms of rainwater harvesting. The schools have to get bigger tanks,” she said.

She noted that many schools are already being equipped with larger tanks as part of the rebuilding process, allowing them to store more water.

The minister also pointed to the possibility of reusing water generated by schools for their gardens.

She said groundwater could be explored, while water from toilets and kitchens could potentially be treated and reused for school gardens.

“That’s where I’m going in terms of looking at our schools and how we use water more effectively,” Morris Dixon said.

She said the lessons being learned from the rebuilding process, especially in western Jamaica, could eventually be applied to schools in other parishes.

As students return to school today, the Government says the water delivery system is in place and will continue to be used wherever schools report that their supplies are running low.

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