For the very first time, some 800 residents from 200 households in Lime Bottom, near Shaw Park in St. Ann, are receiving a more reliable water supply, thanks to a new J$24 million pipeline project, implemented by the National Water Commission (NWC).
Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation Senator the Hon. Matthew Samuda, toured Phase One of the pipeline project on Friday, December 22, 2023, along with Councillor Michael Belnavis, and senior officials of the NWC.
The work in Lime Bottom is part of the NWC’s thrust to extend its network and to bring more reliable water supply to several areas that historically had no formal water supply.
According to Minister Samuda, the work being undertaken would result in a total increase in the distribution network by some two kilometers.
“There’s a section which will carry the line further up the hill and will service a further 200- households. That work is underway and will be completed shortly. The project is targeting 300 households by the time we have done all the work, but we expect to be over 200 within the next two weeks” the Minister stated.
Before the implementation of the project, residents had installed informal connections at numerous points, to the NWC mains. These individual lines then traversed several hundred feet to several resident’s homes.
Work on the project included the removal of the existing informal lines from the NWC’s network; the installation of the four-inch main to serve as a distribution line, as well as the installation of customer connections to the new supply line.
Minister Samuda who engaged with the residents during the tour, said illegal connections not only result in a loss of revenue for the NWC but also damage its network.
“We need all citizens to reject water theft. It’s not in anyone’s interest for someone to illegally breach the system and connect. It costs us way more than the water they take because invariably that is where the leaks start because people are not connecting properly”, he stated.
He implored the citizens to report illegal connections, adding that the NWC would work with customers to ensure they are regularized.
“Sometimes you run a line and you get a call that people don’t know that they had to sign up or they don’t know the process, so we’ve been working with the community over the last three or four days going house to house to ensure that they all know the process and how they sign up and what documents they have to have and that process will continue apace for the next couple of days to ensure that the community sees the benefit of this construction”, he noted.
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