IN the face of severe drought conditions Government is seeking to revive the micro-dam project, abandoned more than 30 years ago, in an effort to help ease the demand on domestic water supply islandwide.

Water Resources Authority managing director Basil Fernandez yesterday disclosed that the Administration has again sought the assistance of Cubans in establishing micro dams in selected parishes, to provide water for agricultural purposes.

"We are looking at that again, in collaboration with the Cubans," Fernandez told Observer reporters and editors at the weekly Monday Exchange meeting held the newspaper's Beechwood Avenue head office in Kingston.

The micro-dam project, first introduced in the 1970s by the Michael Manley-led PNP administration to provide irrigation water, fell by the way side after alleged poor management and haphazard implementation. During the initial implementation of the project it was highly criticised as being a conduit for political handouts and not taken seriously.

Fernandez yesterday revealed that a lot of the micro-dams were never properly constructed, saying that only four now remained. One is at Albion in St Thomas, two in Clarendon and one at Bodles in St Catherine.

The WRA head said that the newly constructed micro-dams are expected to adequately provide irrigation, thus relieving the pressure on domestic supply, as people frequently diverted potable water for agricultural use.

He, however, was unable to give a cost of the proposed project or give locations that would receive micro-dams.

"We have not got to the point of detailing and identifying the sites," Fernandez told the Observer.

He said that he has seen no records regarding the original project and the Cuban Government has again been sought for assistance.

"I have to do further investigations to find out exactly what areas were chosen. It is something we are trying to work out with the Cubans," said Fernandez.

Linking of water supply sources islandwide, another long-standing project that has seen slow progress, is also now being energised, according to Fernandez.

The Rio Cobre system, supplying primarily Portmore and the Corporate Area, was implemented in the 1970s, and the Yallahs pipeline, commissioned in the 1980s, are the two programmes that have survived.

However, commenting that the Corporate Area was not Jamaica, Fernandez added that extensive work is being done in western parishes and along the North Coast.

According to Fernandez, the domestic water supply is now interconnected between Negril in Westmoreland and Runaway Bay, St Ann. "This means that water can be transferred from any area that has supply to an area of need," Fernandez said.

"At lot of work has been done in the western parishes and moving along the North Coast," he added.

Fernandez, however, made it clear that South Coast parishes were at a distinct disadvantage as they had the greater demand for water, while the northern parishes had the greater supply.

The approach in southern parishes would be geared more to the increasing in efficiencies of existing supply sources, Fernandez said.