Address recurring water crisis with practical solutions

THE EDITOR, Madam:

Once again, as the dry season tightens its grip, thousands of Jamaican households are left hauling water, rationing showers, and watching taps run dry. This is no longer an occasional inconvenience. It is a predictable, recurring crisis, and it is time our national response moved from emergency trucking to genuine household-level resilience.

I am writing to propose a set of practical measures that could meaningfully reduce the burden on ordinary families while easing pressure on the National Water Commission’s already strained infrastructure.

First, remove taxes from black water storage tanks. These tanks have effectively become a household necessity rather than a luxury item, yet they remain taxed as though they were discretionary purchases. Removing GCT and import duties would immediately lower the cost barrier for families trying to build their own water security.

Second, allow each household to purchase a maximum of two tanks, with at least one heavily subsidised.

Given how erratic our rainfall patterns have become, with long dry spells followed by intense, short bursts of rain, a single tank is often not enough to bridge the gap between water-truck visits and water-main breaks. A subsidised second tank would let families store meaningfully more water without the full cost falling on them.

Third, roll out islandwide guttering and rainwater-harvesting training. RADA, JIS and local community associations already have the reach to deliver this. Town-hall sessions, radio and television spots, and simple printed guides on how to properly install guttering and downpipes to direct roof runoff into storage tanks would help households capture water that is currently simply lost to the ground.

Finally, through the NHT, gift new homeowners a reserve water tank (drum) as a standard feature of every unit built under government housing schemes

Water security should be built into new housing from the outset, not treated as an afterthought homeowners must sort out themselves after moving in.

None of these measures require reinventing the wheel. They simply ask that policy catch up with the reality Jamaican households already live with every dry season. Taken together, they would shift us from a cycle of reactive water trucking towards genuine, household-level water resilience.

The relevant ministries (water, local government and housing) should give these proposals serious consideration.

JONESHIA BRYAN-THOMAS