The project addressed a potential encroachment by the small farmers of the Milton community into the Morne Diablotin national park which lies at the foot hills of Morne Diablotin within the western agricultural region at the north-western side of the island. The area measures approximately 98 acres (40 Ha) subdivided among 34 land owners. The area has been largely cultivated with a mixture of root and tree crops, with bananas and citrus being dominant. Citrus intercropped with other cash crops such as yams, pineapples, plantains, dasheen and vegetables in the stated order of economic importance is also widely practised within the catchment.
The main reason for the construction of an irrigation system was to increase the productivity of farmers by ensuring the availability of water for irrigation of their crops. That would thus enhance the livelihoods of the farmers adjacent to the More Diablotin National Park while at the same time provide additional protection to the biodiversity of the Park. To this end, the project was also designed to inform and encourage farmers/producers within the Milton area of adaptation measures to changing climatic conditions. The productivity of farm lands in the Milton areas had been compromised by extended drought periods during the dry season from January to July. As such the water irrigation system was established to provide a consistent and reliable supply of water for the farmers so as to combat excessive drought during the dry season and to increase the productivity of the farms.
The irrigation system is comprised of:
- An intake from the Dublanc River at an elevation of 530 m
- A transmission line measuring 2605 m
- Operations and structures of the irrigation delivery system which consists of the following:
- A concrete dam/intake structure on a tributary of the Dublanc River
- An Inlet Arrangement with a gate valve assembly, water meter and pressure gauge for measuring the incoming pressure into the filtration unit
- An automatic sand media filter for filtration of raw water
- A fine disc filter following the sand media filter that will remove any particles not removed by the sand filter or sand particles leaving the media filter chamber
- Transmission mains to conduct water from the source to the irrigation zone
- Control sheds equipped with water control and metering devices to irrigate the farms
