The Dam Disgrace at Mona and Hermitage

 

By Michael Spence

Michael Spence

Have we taken a serious look at the state of our dams?

The Mona Dam was built in 1944 with a capacity of about 800 million gallons. It was desilted only once, between 1974 and 1976, when it was already 30% silted. That was 50 years ago. Today, estimates suggest it could be 60% to 70% silted.

At full capacity, we may now have less than 300 million gallons of usable water. That is why we are seeing water lockoffs even during the rainy season.

When was the last bathymetric survey done on Jamaica’s two major facilities, Mona and Hermitage? Without current data, we are managing blind.

Desilting our dams every 10 to 15 years would be far less costly in terms of equipment, manpower, and shutdown time. Shorter, planned shutdowns are far better than the long, emergency lockoffs citizens endure now.

If we addressed this, water lockoffs could become a thing of the past.  

Right now, it is a national disgrace and a symptom of gross incompetence.

Michael Spence

Michael Spence is a graduate of Cornwall College and the University of the West Indies. He is a trained teacher, a sociologist, and a writer for Bark Di Trute.

Micspen2@hotmail.com 

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