NWC Water Service Targeted For Tuesday After Jamaica Blackout

Water Minister Matthew Samuda says the National Water Commission should have supplies back by Tuesday for about 2,000 customers who remained without water after Friday’s islandwide blackout.

In an update as at 8:00 p.m. Sunday, Samuda said the outstanding service problems were limited to one system in Manchester and two plants in St Elizabeth. He said those sites were still affected by issues arising from the Jamaica Public Service power outage.

According to the minister, NWC and JPS teams were still working at the locations, and the problems were expected to be cleared up by Monday.

The latest figures came after earlier information showed that around 65,000 households, or 12 per cent of the NWC’s customer base, had no water up to Saturday afternoon.

Samuda called the disruption regrettable, while pointing to government spending on standby capacity aimed at making the water sector better able to cope when electricity fails.

He said more than $1 billion has gone into generators since Hurricane Beryl, with the equipment intended to switch on when regular power supply is cut.

Samuda added that the Government will keep pursuing longer-term energy options, with the aim of building greater resilience into 70 per cent of the water distribution network over the coming years.