NWC making strides in slashing non-revenue water losses in Portmore

Eighteen months into the execution of a five-year multimillion-dollar project, Portmore is said to have slashed non-revenue water losses by a third, a move which it is hoped will help to turn around the financial fortunes of the National Water Commission (NWC).

Non-revenue water includes quantities lost because of physical leaks and overflows, unauthorised use, theft, meter under-registration, or through unbilled use such as that supplied to fire hydrants.

The NWC is tackling the losses in Portmore through a partnership with MIYA Jamaica, with the goal of reducing non-revenue water in the municipality from 26,145 cubic metres per day to 10,000 cubic metres daily and improving the service delivery to customers.

The project, which got under way in March 2021, has so far seen water losses reduced to 17, 366 cubic metres per day, or 34 per cent. The reduction equates to just over half of the contractual target.

Senator Matthew Samuda, the government minister with responsibility for water, noted the effectiveness of the water-efficiency alliance and praised both entities for their achievements so far, during a tour of the facilities in Portmore on Thursday with their technical teams.

“Partnerships are going to be important and the type of arrangement that exists with NWC and MIYA is representative of the partnerships that we want. Technical expertise, with a hard-working, diligent team from NWC, will indeed turn around the financial fortunes of this entity,” Samuda said.

After being shown materials and equipment acquired for leak detection and repair, pressure management, operations and maintenance of telemetry system and facilities, and metering, Samuda was then exposed to the real-time functioning of the various systems.

On the issue of the regulation system to manage water pressure, which he deemed very important, Samuda said that 12 such sites will be installed in Portmore to ensure that the water pressure is stable through the distribution network throughout the day.

“This will move us to above 23 hours per day of reliable service in Portmore, and this is something we are very proud of,” Samuda commented.

He highlighted that the installation of new water meters throughout Jamaica will help to save revenue and make that every drop counts.

But while the minister and the teams from the NWA and MIYA are pointing to the cost-effective way of formalising the project to reduce water loss and increase revenue without compromising quality standards, Portmore Deputy Mayor Alric Campbell was not convinced that the investment was working out for more than 100,000 paying customers in Portmore.

“While I acknowledge the fact that the Government has invested funds through the NWC to deal with the non-revenue water ... in Portmore, at the same time, customers who are currently paying their bills are underserved,” Campbell told The Gleaner.

“I use the Jacqueline Avenue pump in Edgewater that broke down at least once every week as one example, causing irregular water supply to thousands of residents and affecting their sewerage systems, not only in Edgewater but in adjoining communities,” the deputy mayor added.

Campbell also complained that the instances of roads being dug up by contractors on behalf of the NWC and left for extended periods before being repaved in the Bridgeport, Portsmouth and Edgewater communities, are posing hardships for residents and motorists.

“For a year now, roads were dug up and no reinstatement of said roads has taken place and residents are complaining,” Campbell revealed, citing Coral Drive in West Bay as one thoroughfare which was dug up last year October and still has not been restored.

Campbell, who is also the councillor for the Bridgeport division, said he has requested that the municipal corporation serve notice on the NWC for failure to complete roadwork that they have entered into an agreement with the municipal authority to do.

ruddy.mathison@gleanerjm.com