Water is not free says NWC official

SPALDINGS, Clarendon:

National Water Commission District Manager for Clarendon, Anthony Cornwall, has told residents in the parish to break out of the habit of thinking that water is free.

He was addressing members of the Santa Hill Citizens Association at the City of Faith Church of God in that community on Tuesday.

Mr. Cornwall noted that although the NWC's motto was 'Water is Life', residents need to be aware that it was also a business which needs revenue to keep it going.

New pumping station

Several communities in the Spaldings area have been suffering from a shortage of water over the years due mainly to drought, caused by a low or no rainfall, said the NWC official.

The Spaldings area is served by the Moravia Treatment Plant which has a capacity of one million gallons of water per day, but low rainfall has cut supplies in half, resulting in many communities receiving inadequate water in their taps.

The District Manager assured the residents that plans are on-stream to have the water supply in the Christiana-Spaldings area improved shortly, with a new pumping station slated for construction at Alston.

Upgrades to the area's water supply will be done at a cost of $120 million with financing from the European Union.

Although he was unable to give a starting date, the NWC District Manager said the project is expected to run for two years.

Pool their funds

He urged residents to get connected as soon as the new system is in place, adding that all standpipes - a source of what people see as free water - would be taken out of commission then.

He also told residents that until the new system comes on stream, they have the option of acquiring water from the NWC at a cost, adding that the company's Rapid Response trucks would deliver at rates cheaper than private truckers.

The Rapid Response trucks transport water in 8,000 and 4,000 gallons and if a resident is unable to afford those amounts, a group of residents could pool their funds and pay for the delivery. This, he said, is to make it easier for consumers.

However, Mr. Cornwall noted that despite these arrangements, persons still believe they should get the water free from the trucks.

"There has been a major resistance in terms of most communities. Once the truck comes in and it is marked Government of Jamaica they just expect to get the water free, and that cannot work. No business can run like that," he said.

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