Prime Minister Andrew Holness has announced that $1 billion will be provided in the next budget to support the development of small, community-based water projects as part of drought mitigation measures.

He said the money will be spent to rehabilitate community tanks, construct catchment areas and install small pumps in mostly rural areas.

“The work for these small projects will begin now,” Holness said while noting that the procurement process could cause delays, hence the need to start the designs of such facilities.

The $1 billion is in addition to the $7 billion that has been allocated for the current fiscal year to develop and upgrade water supply systems across the country.

Holness, who was speaking Tuesday in the House of Representatives, said the Government was taking steps to ease the plight of water-deprived communities as the country undergoes one of its worst meteorological droughts.

He noted that the peak rainfall periods of October and April-May have seen less than average rainfall.

On Tuesday, residents of several Portland communities blocked roads to protest a lack of water and the dust nuisance from road construction.

The prime minister also noted that once the wettest parish, Portland was now facing the brunt of the drought as the rivers in the east of the country dry up because of a lack of rainfall.

He pointed out that the impact of the drought in the Corporate Area was lessened because of the more than $3 billion spent to install a pipeline from Ferry, St Catherine to Eastern Kingston and Port Royal.