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34 September 2016 - Business View Caribbean
Business View Caribbean - September 2016 35
The National Water
Commission of Jamaica
Serving you in so many ways
The National Water Commission (NWC) was formally
established in 1980, under the auspices of the Nation-
al Water Commission Act. “Prior to 1980, there were
two main organizations responsible for the provision
of water supplies and sewage services throughout the
island,” explains Mark Barnett, the NWC’s President
since 2015, “the Kingston and St. Andrew Water Com-
mission and the more rurally focused, National Water
Authority. In 1980, there was an amalgamation of the
two entities to form the National Water Commission.”
While it is not the only service provider in the coun-
try – there are a few private and quasi-governmental
operations ongoing - the National Water Commission
is charged with the responsibility of being the main
provider of potable water supply, and the collection,
treatment and disposal of wastewater services to the
people of Jamaica. Today, the NWC produces more
than 90 percent of the country’s potable water from
a network of more than 160 underground wells, over
116 river sources (via water treatment plants), and
147 springs. It produces 180 million imperial gallons
of potable water a day for over two million persons and
supplies more than a half million of those persons
with wastewater services, as well. Approximately 73
percent of Jamaica’s population is supplied via house
connections from the National Water Commission and
the remaining 27 percent obtains water from stand-
pipes, water trucks, wayside tanks, community catch-
ment tanks, rainwater catchment tanks, and direct ac-
cess to rivers and streams.
Approximately 30 percent of Jamaica’s population is
served by sewerage facilities operated by the NWC.
This includes some small sewerage systems, utiliz-
ing package plants, which are associated with hous-
ing developments in various locations throughout the
country. The disposal of the sewage generated in the
remainder of the population is done through various
types of on-site systems such as septic tanks, soak-
away pits, tile fields and pit latrines, or other systems
operated by other entities.
The NWC operates more than 1,000 water supply,
and over 100 sewerage facilities, islandwide. These
vary from large raw water storage reservoirs at Her-
mitage and Mona in St. Andrew and the Great River
treatment plant in St. James, to medium sized and
small diesel-driven pumping installations serving rural
towns and villages across Jamaica. The NWC facilities
also include over 10,000 kilometers of pipelines and
more than 1,000 kilometers of sewer mains across
AT A GLANCE
WHO:
The National Water Commission of Jamaica
WHAT:
The main provider of potable water sup-
ply, and the collection, treatment and disposal of
wastewater services in Jamaica
WHERE:
Kingston, Jamaica
WEBSITE
:
www.nwcjamaica.com