Enfield residents warn open catchment puts St. Mary drinking water at risk

For many rural Jamaican communities, securing clean water is a daily challenge. In Enfield, St. Mary, residents say their concern is not simply volume, but whether the water they already receive is safe to use.

Community members have complained about the state of a catchment that supplies potable water to the area. They say the structure is left open and unprotected, creating contamination risk and threatening the health of scores of people who depend on it.

Householders who spoke to TVJ said they may have water in storage containers, yet they do not trust it for household use. Some also described problems with piped supply, including periods when connections to their homes are unreliable or unavailable.

Chris Brown, Member of Parliament for South East St. Mary, said responsibility for the supply lies with the National Water Commission and the St. Mary Municipal Corporation. He said he has travelled across the constituency and found that many catchment sites need to be secured and upgraded, and that sanitary conditions around several facilities are far below what is acceptable.

Brown described the situation as urgent and said he has started engagement on the issue. He told residents at a community consultation in Enfield that stakeholders must be brought together for a coordinated effort to improve water access and safety for the area.