BIGWOODS, Manchester:

More than 5,000 residents of Golden Run, Carter, Bigwoods and Craighead in north east Manchester are now able to access potable water, as two water systems have been commissioned into service.

The Mother Fleure and Golden Run water-supply projects were handed over on July 9 at a ceremony at the Garden View Baptist Church in Bigwoods by the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF) and the Manchester Parish Council.

A study of sources of water and their viability within the community, conducted by teacher and resident of the community, Clive Smith, revealed that the Mother Fleure water supply and the Golden Run springs were lucrative sources to provide residents with potable water.

Donation of a spring

Giving an overview of the project, Smith said the Mother Fleure springs, which are situated on the Fleure's property in Bigwoods, were given to the people of Bigwoods by Sweetie Fleure and her family.

Following the donation of the spring by the Fleure family, a storage tank was built around the spring, which made the water safer.

A committee, which was set up to examine the possibility of upgrading the spring, drafted a proposal and submitted it to the JSIF for funding, and in the latter part of 2006 JSIF granted approval for the project and a contract was signed.

Following the granting of the contract, a storage tank was built and the laying of two miles of pipes took place.

General manager of Technical Services at JSIF, Omar Sweeny, said that a total investment of $16.7 million was spent on the Mother Fleure and Golden Run water-supply projects.

Of the $10 million spent on the Mother Fleure water system, the Manchester Parish Council provided in excess of $645,000, while the Bigwoods community, through sweat equity, contributed $52,000.

Work on the Golden Run water supply system was valued at over $6 million, of which JSIF invested $5.7 million; the Manchester Parish Council, $233,000, and the Craighead Progressive Youth Club, through sweat equity, provided $61,000.

Meanwhile, member of parliament for North East Manchester, Audley Shaw, told residents that the operating cost for the water supply system would be high, as electricity was not a cheap commodity.

- JIS