A man fills up a small barrel with a hose from a water truck. Rainfall patterns in Cacoon have become more irregular in the past decade. Many residents, like this man, are having to purchase water for domestic use, in addition to the drinking water they were already purchasing.
The water truck passes through the community almost every day. But not all residents can afford to purchase the water, and many don’t buy it until the last minute, in hope that rainwater will come in the meantime.
It costs about 500 Jamaican dollars (USD 3.24) to fill a blue barrel, which will be enough to do two loads of washing and some cooking. This puts an average water bill for a month at about 3000 dollars (USD 19.42), or about 20% of the average salary in Jamaica. This is a big expense for families here, and one, which will only rise with the years.
