Saint Mary - Jamaica

Reviewed SFD

CC BY-SA 4.0

Saint Mary is a rural parish in the county of Middlesex on the Caribbean island of Jamaica.

As of 2019 the population is 115,090.

Onsite sanitation is used by 97% of the population, of which 94% use a toilet connected to a pit and 3% use a toilet connected to a septic tank. The remaining 2% are connected to a sewer network and 1% reportedly practise open defecation.

The SFD graphic shows that 98% of the excreta is safely managed and 2% is unsafely managed. Nearly all the safely managed excreta (94%) is from faecal sludge in pits of various types, which are not emptied but safely abandoned, covered and replaced when full. While this method is considered safe (assuming groundwater used for drinking is not polluted), it is only safe while there is space for households to cover old pits and replace with new ones. In areas where housing density is increasing, alternative safe solutions will need to be found that may include safe emptying, transport and treatment before reuse or disposal.

  • Prepared by: CSE, GWP-Caribbean + GE
  • Date of production: 16/01/2023
  • Last update: 20/01/2023