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The community of Arberdeen, St Elizabeth, will be receiving piped water for the very first time.

Basil Waite Jr, People's National Party caretaker for the North East St Elizabeth, constituency broke ground for the $43 million water project on Monday.

He told THE CENTRAL STAR that the project is the brainchild of Audie Myers, councillor for the Siloah division, and has been waiting seven years for execution.

"These communities, lower and upper Aberdeen, they've never had piped water before, so this is very significant that these residents will now be able to get a consistent supply of water," he said.

He said the project is being facilitated through Rural Water Supply, a government agency, and the water will be sourced from the Black River.

"What we'll do is to take the water from Williamsfield, which is directly from the head of the Black River, and we will be pumping it uphill to Aberdeen square, and serve the entire area," he said.

Waite said the water will serve more than 3,000 residents, and should be ready in six months.

"Two tanks will have to be built, one in lower Aberdeen, and one in upper Aberdeen from which the gravity field will take place. The extension four-inch pipes, and the extension two-inch pipes will have to be laid, and after that we'll have to do the necessary pressure testing and sterilising and so on. So I'd imagine in another five to six months (it will be ready)," he said

And the residents are ecstatic at this development.

"They were a little doubtful because they have been hearing for so long about the possibility of water, that they never even believed that this would really happen. So the fact that they have seen the pipes, and the ground is actually broken, and the back hoe is there digging the tanks, it has brought joy into the souls of the people in Aberdeen," he said.