Residents of Stepney in St. Ann will soon have more reliable access to potable water following the groundbreaking and contract signing for a rainwater catchment tank on Friday (May 22).

The $140 million project will include the installation of a 180,000-gallon concrete tank by Rural Water Supply Limited (RWSL).

Construction is slated to begin on June 1, 2026, and is expected to be completed within approximately six months, following which the system will be handed over to the St. Ann Municipal Corporation.

Speaking at the ceremony held at Bob Marley Primary and Junior High School, Minister of Water, Environment and Climate Change, Hon. Matthew Samuda, said that investment in water infrastructure is key to community development and poverty reduction.

He said that the Government is committed to ensuring that national development translates into tangible benefits for citizens.

“I believe that there is genuine economic transformation taking place in Jamaica, but it will only matter if our citizens receive their dividend from that economic transformation,” he pointed out.

The Minister said that construction of the tank will enable money now being spent on trucking water to be redirected to other critical needs.

“Every time a citizen has to pay for trucking it is money not invested in their children. Every time the parish council has to pay for a truck to drive miles to give relief to citizens, it is a pothole not patched because the money went to trucking water,” he contended.

For his part, Chairman of RWSL, Omar Sweeney, said the initiative signals the Government’s continued commitment to addressing the needs of underserved communities.

Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service and Member of Parliament for St. Ann South Western, Hon. Zavia Mayne, welcomed the project and commended Minister Samuda for facilitating its implementation.

Principal of Bob Marley Primary and Junior High School, Rose Gordon, who is also a resident of the community, said the tank will bring much-needed relief to the institution.

“It means a lot to me because the school is right here where the children can get water. Sometimes we are without water, and we have to call the truck and we can just go across there and get water now,” she said.

Resident Shanique Simpson also expressed appreciation.

“I am very elated for this catchment tank,” she said, while thanking stakeholders involved in making the project a reality.