KINGSTON, Jamaica — The National Water Commission has revealed that drought conditions in several parishes have caused several water supply systems to experience difficulty in providing water.

NWC, in a release today, said the extent to which customers will be affected will be dependent on their particular system, however, several western and central parishes have been negatively impacted. The organisation blamed the problem on combined factors of limited rainfall and increased demand for water.

The Meteorological Service of Jamaica has projected that Jamaica will experience below-normal rainfall through to April, according to NWC. The island’s mean rainfall for January 2017, the commission said, was a mere 50 per cent of normal figures for 1971-2000. The only parish to have experienced above-normal rainfall is St Ann.

According to the release, drought conditions have been noted in the parishes of Hanover, Trelawny, Manchester and Clarendon, with St James, Westmoreland, St Elizabeth and St Thomas reporting normal drought conditions for the December – January period.

The NWC says the following water supply systems are affected by drought conditions:

St James

Mt Carey

Endeavour

Mafoota

Vaughnsfield

Blue Hole

Dantrout

Hanover

Logwood

New Milns

Trelawny

Wilson Run

Ulster Spring

Manchester

Moravia

Clarendon

Rock River

Crooked River

Campbell Hill

Low Ground

Frankfield

Fairburn

Aenon Town

Portland

Turtle Crawle

St Thomas

Easington

Prospect

Wilmington

Trinityville