Schools urged to brace for dry spell

WESTERN BUREAU

School leaders are being urged to intensify water conservation and rainwater harvesting efforts as Jamaica enters the 2026-27 academic year amid continuing dry conditions and forecasts suggesting that the situation could worsen.

Senator Marlon Morgan, parliamentary secretary in the Ministry of Education, Skills, Youth and Information, made the call while addressing the ministry’s Region Four Principals’ Conference at the Montego Bay Convention Centre in St James.

Morgan said the prevailing dry spell, which he linked to the continuing El Niño effect, requires schools to take practical steps to conserve water and reduce their vulnerability to shortages.

“I must also make a point that, based on the El Niño effect that is persisting as we speak, the dry spell that is being encountered in many parts of the island, as school leaders focus attention, will have to be placed on the business of water conservation,” he told principals last Thursday.

He specifically encouraged schools to make greater use of rainwater harvesting systems, particularly where buildings have zinc roofing.

“Ensure that, as far as possible, we are in the habit, at our respective school plants, of harvesting rainwater,” Morgan said.

He suggested that schools install gutters on suitable roofs to channel rainwater into storage containers, including large tanks and drums.

“Wherever we have the zinc roofing, it’s important that we have a kind of gutter affixed thereto, so that we can channel water into an appropriate receptacle, whether it is one of the black tanks or a blue drum, the 500-gallon blue drums, you name it,” he said.

Morgan acknowledged that harvested rainwater would not necessarily be suitable for drinking, but said it could play an important role in meeting non-potable needs around school compounds.

“It may not be potable water in some instances, but it would go a far way in helping us to do, and attend to, key things in and around the school plant,” he said.

Among the uses he identified were flushing toilets and addressing other sanitary needs.

Use water responsibly

The parliamentary secretary also urged schools to ensure that water supplied through the National Water Commission (NWC) is used sparingly and responsibly.

“And where the water is in the pipe from the NWC primarily, ensure that your stakeholders use it in a conservative and responsible manner,” Morgan instructed.

He said the need for conservation was particularly pressing, given the forecast for the coming weeks.

“That’s going to be very important in the days and weeks ahead because, based on the forecast, it is not looking so good,” Morgan warned.

However, he cautioned school leaders against becoming discouraged, urging them instead to focus on measures within their control.

“At the same time, we cannot despair. We have to take an old-fashioned approach and just do the responsible thing because we cannot control certain things, but the things over which we have some superintendence and control, we have to ensure that those are on point,” he said.

Morgan placed the water-conservation appeal within the wider push by the ministry for schools to become more resilient following the devastation caused by Hurricane Melissa.

He said schools, particularly across western Jamaica, had been forced to demonstrate resilience in the aftermath of the hurricane, with the ministry still repairing and reconstructing the school plant.

He argued that the rebuilding programme should ultimately leave schools with stronger and more resilient infrastructure.

For Morgan, rainwater harvesting should therefore become part of the culture of resilience being developed in schools.

“So, we are in a period where, as part of our culture of resilience, as we develop and consolidate that posture of resilience and exhibit innovativeness, we have to focus attention on the rainwater harvesting,” he said.

His comments come as school administrators prepare for the reopening of schools on September 7, with the ministry expecting all schools to be operational, despite ongoing repairs at some institutions.

Morgan said the combination of water conservation, rainwater harvesting and responsible use of piped water would be critical to helping schools navigate the dry conditions while maintaining essential operations.

albert.ferguson@gleanerjm.com