Samuda anticipates continued improvements in Corporate Area’s water supply
Published:Thursday | April 27, 2023 | 6:46 PM
Senator Matthew Samuda, Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, says residents in St Catherine and Kingston and St Andrew will continue to see improvements in their water supply based on the investment being made in Jamaica's water infrastructure.
Speaking during a tour of the National Water Commission's Constant Spring Water Treatment Plant in St Andrew today, Samuda explained that an assessment in 2019 found that approximately 4.5 million gallons of water per day was leaking out of the two clearwater storage reservoirs at the facility.
As part of the extensive works that took place at the facility between April 2019 and July 2021, the roofs were replaced, a new structure was constructed, the walls and floors received waterproof coating, and pipes and valves were replaced and reconfigured.
Costing approximately $840 million, these works are now benefitting approximately 40,000 customers in Kingston and St Andrew, including areas like Havendale, Stony Hill, Half-Way Tree, New Kingston and Cross Roads.
Samuda explained that the work done at the clearwater storage reservoirs is significant, especially in times of drought.
“Certainly, in a drought like the one we're having, we would not have been able to afford 4.5 million gallons a day of leakage. The investment has paid dividends,” Samuda said.
But the investment is not isolated, as other projects have been done to ensure that residents in the Corporate Area have better water supply. He said that the Non-Revenue Water Reduction Programme helped the NWC to reduce water losses by more than 30 per cent in Kingston and St Andrew. Through the project, aged pipelines were replaced, leaks were detected and meters were installed.
Samuda noted that there will be even more improvement in the water supply of people in St Catherine and Kingston and St Andrew with the construction of the Content Water Treatment Plant in St Catherine.
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