Windsor Heights residents cry foul amid water frustrations

Getting water uphill is a Herculean and expensive task. Residents of Windsor Heights in Central Village, St Catherine, also find it deeply unnerving after repeatedly paying a “flat fee” to the National Water Commission (NWC) for the commodity, which they claim has not flowed from their pipes in more than a month - an occurrence they say they have experienced before.

Collectively, it is their main source of depression: not having water to wash their hands, cook their food, or for their children to take a bath for school in the mornings. In a fractured, often volatile community, such a shortage of the precious lifeline often causes arguments and physical conflicts.

So the residents are bawling out for help; not just crying “injustice”.

“Many years ago when they just came in with the flat rate it was $680 monthly, and all of a sudden it just started climbing, and when you go out there [to NWC] they can give you no good explanation. Now it is roughly $2,000,” bemoaned longtime resident and shopkeeper Donovan Pinnock, who two weeks ago described himself as a stickler for paying his bills in full and on time.

“If I get water I pay, and if I don’t get the water I still pay. You will get water sometime one or two times a month. Sometimes, for months we don’t get water,” continued the elder, adding that he fills his many drums and water tank when he can to ensure that “me good”.

“The last time we got water was February 3rd. From that, no more water don’t come. Right now, the 18th of this month, it is fully six weeks since we don’t get any water; and before that we stayed without water for roughly a month before,” he argued. Pinnock noted that in the interim he, like his neighbours, must fork out a burdensome $600 per tank, and an additional $500 per drum to private water sellers.

Pinnock believes that the NWC should either stop requiring payments whenever there is no water or refund payments and, according to the NWC’s Commercial Operations Policy, his arguments may have merit.

Because, he said, “How on earth I am paying for the water and not getting any? Once you are supplying me with it I have no problem paying.”

Still, he, like some of his neighbours, pays his bills each month, mainly for fear that if he does not the bills will pile up. He and others brandished several receipts stapled together as evidence that they have been paying their NWC bills while also pointing to empty water drums and dry pipes inside their homes.

INTERNAL CONFLICTS

However, Windsor Heights has its internal problems. Not everyone is as willing to pay for their water as Pinnock; and sometimes, when the water does come from NWC, some residents at the foot of the hill – where cookshops, bars, and other establishments are aplenty – use it indiscriminately, wasting it, the residents argued. Earlier this month, while Pinnock and others at the top of the hill complained, one cookshop vendor closer to the foot of the hill told The Sunday Gleaner he had water in his pipes.

“It (water) comes for everybody, but some people are paying, and some people are not paying it, and that is unfair to see you one paying and the rest are not,” bemoaned Marie Harves.

Harves explained that, at times, she has had to wait until late at night for some neighbours to go to bed in order for her to fill up on water from her pipes. It’s an even graver story for elderly citizen Asenath Sharma, who survives on her pension and help from her son.

“I get my pension money, $19,000, and I draw all of it and carry it and give them, and I’m still not getting any water? That is bad! Something has to be done, man!” declared Sharma while calling for the NWC to be discerning in recognising individuals who are paying versus those who are not; and to provide water accordingly. “Because we can’t be paying for them and we are not getting any water. It doesn’t make sense!”

Yesterday, responding to queries submitted on March 20 about the issues at Windsor Heights, the NWC acknowledged the recent disruptions in water supply to the community, which is served by the Central Village system.

The utility company said the system experienced two unforeseen shutdowns due to electro-mechanical issues, the most recent of which was successfully rectified on March 25.

“While supply has been restored, the Commission undertook limited water trucking efforts based on available resources to assist affected residents during the period of disruption,” the utility company said. “During periods of operation, the area enjoys reliable water supply – with most sections being supplied on a 24-7 basis.

“Additionally, the NWC notes that a number of customers in Windsor Heights are billed based on a fixed estimate [which] is what is used in instances of no meter or where water supply is intermittent. The majority of the customers in Windsor Heights are assessed for consumption amounting to average monthly bill of J$2,500. Under its on-going metering exercise, meters will be installed at all customers’ premises where feasible to do so.

“Importantly, where estimated charges were applied during the periods of disruption, these will be reviewed, and any necessary credit adjustments will be reflected on subsequent customer bills.”

The NWC also noted that empirically, most customers on an estimated supply typically use a greater volume of water than they are they are charged for.

The company said challenges to isolated areas also occur where illegal connections tap into the existing main and result in leaks or low pressures to other users.

“The NWC also recognises the high level of delinquency in the community and is actively engaging affected customers through direct outreach,” the utility company said. “As part of these efforts, residents are being offered various levels of debt write-offs under the Amnesty Programme, which has now been extended for an additional two months. Customers are urged to take advantage of this initiative to regularise their accounts and maintain their water service.”

FIXED ESTIMATES,

NOT FLAT FEES

Meanwhile, the Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR) said in its response to similar queries that the NWC had replaced its application of ‘flat fees’ with ‘fixed estimates’.

Flat fees refer to consumption charges equivalent to no more than 3,000 gallons, applied to customers who preferred not to have the supply metered, the OUR explained. Fixed estimates are derived either from historical data (meter readings) or through discussions with the customer about occupancy level and activity undertaken at the premises.

From January 2 to March 20, the OUR reported that it received 358 NWC notifications for the parish of St Catherine. Of these contacts, 276 (77%) provided information about their specific addresses. None of the 276 complaints came from Windsor Heights.

“The nature of the complaints regarding NWC for this period are Billing Matters (72%), Disconnection (4%), Interruption of Service (3%), Irregular Supply (3%) and All Other Categories (18%) – which includes: poor service quality, reconnection, service connection, broken main, and Guaranteed Standards,” the OUR explained ahead of the NWC’s response, while noting that the residents’ concerns, as raised by The Sunday Gleaner, would be investigated.

In response to queries regarding whether such fees should remain mandatory despite regular interrupted service, the OUR pointed to provisions under the NWC operations policy that support Pinnock’s position.

“Adjustments can be made to consumption charges where the NWC is unable to provide service to its customers for an extended period under specific circumstances, which include climate and/or source changes, mechanical and/or electrical malfunction, as well as due to natural disasters,” the OUR noted. “This policy also provides for a write-off of service charges where ... the period of inadequate or No Service exceeds six months and/or the customer was not provided with trucked water.

The OUR, however, said customers would have to contact the NWC regarding such adjustments.

corey.robinson@gleanerjm.com