Prime Minister Andrew Holness, on Wednesday, officially commissioned the $630-million Essex Valley Water Supply Project in Junction, St Elizabeth, to reduce water-related challenges in the parish.

More than 20,000 residents in 3,300 households now have the benefit of receiving potable piped water that will be supplied by the National Water Commission (NWC).
Among the areas to receive the commodity are Junction, Long Hill, Myersville, Warminster, Content, Nain, Stephens Run, Dunder Hill, Ballards Valley and Cheapside.
In his address, the Prime Minister pointed out that under the project, the NWC laid approximately 11 kilometres of transmission pipes and fittings from the Long Hill well station to the well site and booster station at Nain.
“There should be an improvement in the quality of service to customers.”
— Holness
Additionally, he noted that pipelines and fittings were also laid between Nain and Junction, as well as from Long Hill to Junction.
“As a result, there should be an improvement in the quality of service to customers,” Holness said.
“We should see a restoration of service to customers in the commercial and highly populated town of Junction, reduction in maintenance and operation costs for repairs and leaks, and the reinstatement of roadways and supply regulation.”
The Prime Minister said that the project has eliminated the need for the trucking of water in the various communities and will lead to greater customer satisfaction from residents who now have the opportunity to get “regularised” under the NWC.