NWC taking drastic steps to address illegal connections in Malvern, St. Elizabeth

Faced with an ever-escalating price tag of illegal connections in Malvern, St. Elizabeth, the National Water Commission (NWC) is moving decisively to clamp down on the activity in a bid to save costs and increase supply to customers.

Data from the NWC's receivables department reveal that the Commission is losing upwards of $5 million monthly due to illegal connections to the Cross Country 10-inch ductile iron transmission main. The pipeline serves several communities, including Malvern, Southfield, Top Hill and Bellevue Housing Schemes 1, 2 and 3.

The monthly cost associated with illegal connections in the area stem from the cost for trucking water to customers affected by illegal connections; the cost of contractors to weld off illegal connections as well as security costs.

Based on investigations by the NWC, unscrupulous persons connect one-inch and half-inch pipes to the transmission mains for, among other things, marijuana cultivation.

According to the NWC, it has been observed that water has been running to waste on these farms, as there is no lock-off system to control the waste. The farms also have no storage system and are therefore dependent on continuous illegal supply.

“As the NWC takes action against the practise, illegal collections have been removed, over 2,000 feet of PVC pipes have been seized, over 600 feet of illegal drip hoses have been removed from farms and eight marijuana farms have been destroyed in a joint action with the police. These actions are carried out monthly,” the NWC said in a press release today.

Meanwhile, as a result of the illegal connections, much damage has been done to the NWC pipeline as persons trespass on the system.

Another impact is an interruption in the regular supply and challenges in the distribution to several customers and institutions, including Hampton High, Munroe College and Bethlehem Moravian College, the entity said.

According to the data, illegal connections result in excess of a 50 per cent reduction in supply to the company's paying customers.

The NWC said it will be continuing with its collaboration with the police to carry out special operations to remove the illegal connections.

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