Free flow for new school year, says NWC

Water supply for the new school year will not be a problem for Jamaican schools, the National Water Commission (NWC) says.

The new school year is slated to start on September 6.

Director of communications for the NWC, Charles Buchanan, told The Gleaner that the company did not foresee disruptions such as those which haunted schools at the end of the last school term.

"In general, the NWC is in a much-improved position compared to the position which existed last term when a severe drought caused by El Niño affected the southeastern parishes, in particular the Corporate Area," he said.

Serious water lock-offs

Declining water levels at the Hermitage Dam and the Mona Reservoir earlier this year forced the NWC to institute water lock-offs throughout Kingston and St Andrew. This had severely affected several Corporate Area schools, which had resorted to suspending classes.

Buchanan said both the Hermitage Dam and the Mona Reservoir had reached full capacity after the rains.

He also said the NWC was ready to supply schools in case they needed any additional help. He also encouraged schools to ensure that there were no deficiencies in their storage or supply capacities, which might have occurred during the summer break.

Buchanan, however, said improvement work in some communities, such as the fixing of the large-diameter transmission pipeline in the Bog Walk gorge, might affect some schools in the area.