NWC staff receive leak detection training from UTech

Twenty employees at the National Water Commission (NWC) are now enrolled at the University of Technology Jamaica (UTech), where they are completing a course in Leak Detection Technologies.

The five-week course, which begun on September 17 is being facilitated by the Faculty of Science and Sport, and follows a Memorandum of Understanding between NWC and UTech in June.

Head of Research Development and Consultancy Division Projects at UTech, Dr Zeyar Min, explained that the course is useful based on the high levels of non-revenue water in Jamaica.

“They say that estimations of water losses in the Caribbean is up to 60 per cent. That means water that has been treated by the facilities, 60 per cent of those waters in certain areas do not get to the consumers,” Min said following a practical session with the NWC team at the Hope Filter Plant in St Andrew recently.

Min said the training “is an important endeavour that is being undertaken to train NWC staff so that they’re certified and equipped in learning how to detect these leaks to prevent some of these water loss problems.”

The practical session followed theoretical classes in the first few weeks of the course.

For Rolyn Cousins, an NWC non-revenue water manager, the sessions highlight proactive steps being taken by the commission to strengthen its technical capacity.

“By the end of this programme, all of our students should be able to return to their regions or to their offices where they’ll be able to assist in NRW activities, specifically leak detection activities,” Cousins said.

A written examination will be administered in the final week to evaluate overall competence and certification readiness.

The NWC said the initiative underscores its commitment to capacity building, innovation and sustainable management of Jamaica’s water resources.