NWC tightens water supply for some customers as Mona Reservoir falls to 35.9%

The National Water Commission (NWC) is reporting that it has moved to further tighten water supply to customers in sections of the Corporate Area due to the continued decline at the Mona Reservoir amid persistent dry conditions.

The NWC, in a media release on Tuesday, said the reservoir is now at 35.9 per cent of capacity.

As a result, the commission said it has to carefully manage the available storage in an effort to maintain supply for as long as possible.

Based on the current rate of decline, the commission will be adjusting the supply hours for customers served by the Mona system, starting Thursday, September 17.

The daily start time for water supply will remain at 6:00 a.m. However, the cut-off time will be brought forward to approximately 4:00 p.m.

Customers served by the Mona system include sections of Liguanea, Cross Roads, Mountain View, Old Hope Road, Hope Road, Hope Flats, Papine, Gordon Town, Beverly Hills, Waterloo Road, Half-Way Tree, Vineyard Town, Manley Meadows, Windward Road, South Camp Road, Franklyn Town, New Kingston, Downtown Kingston and Harbour View.

The NWC renewed its appeal to customers to conserve water.

The company noted that the situation at Mona Reservoir forms part of a wider challenge affecting its water supply systems across Jamaica.

It pointed out that 99 of the commission’s approximately 450 water supply systems are being affected by drought conditions, representing approximately 22 per cent of systems nationally.

“The nature and severity of the impact vary from system to system, and the NWC has therefore implemented a combination of drought-management measures tailored to individual areas,” the NWC said.

“These include regulated supply schedules, reduced operating hours and water-trucking arrangements to supplement piped supply in severely affected communities,” it added.

The commission said it continues to monitor storage levels, river and spring flows and other water sources and will make further operational adjustments where necessary.

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