KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) — Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Dr Horace Chang, says a 30 per cent reduction of non-revenue water (NRW) will significantly improve the country’s resilience to drought.

Addressing a luncheon meeting of the Rotary Club of St. Andrew at the Hotel Four Seasons, yesterday he also said the periodic lock-off of water supply in sections of the Corporate Area during the dry seasons could also be eliminated.

“Non-revenue water might not be something we can eliminate, but if we can get it from 60 per cent to 30 per cent, that is an additional 30 million gallons of water at the same cost of production,” he said.

The minister pointed out that the ongoing Kingston and St Andrew Non-Revenue Water Co-Management Project to achieve this goal by reducing non-revenue water and improving waste-water collection, has already been impactful.

Dr Chang further noted that resolving this challenge will result in the National Water Commission (NWC) being more viable and being able to offer reasonable and stable water rates for the long term.

“We are working to get [the NWC] to function more efficiently, and getting the non-revenue water situation under control is a critical part of that,” he added.  

Dr Chang said arrangements are now being made to build a new plant at the Rio Cobre to supply some 15 million gallons of water per day, which, along with the non-revenue water project, will provide enough water to make the Kingston Metropolitan Area drought-resilient as well as provide for commercial activity.

He said this is particularly important as much of the economy revolves around the availability of water and proper waste-water collection systems.

“I think we can make the [KMA region] genuinely drought-resilient within the next three years and bring it a reliable quality supply. It is a required part of the foundation to build the economy and to restore Kingston,” he said.

The $42.5-million Kingston and St Andrew Non-Revenue Water Co-Management Project falls under the Kingston Metropolitan Area Water Supply Improvement Programme that was started in September 2015, through funding from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

Non-revenue water is currently estimated at 59 per cent of the volume that enters the water supply and distribution networks, which is lost primarily through leakage.

Under this project, the proposed reduction of NRW within Kingston and St Andrew is expected to be 45 per cent in two years, moving to 30 per cent at the end of the contract. By project end, it is anticipated that the NWC will realise an economic benefit of $29.2 billion.

Several infrastructure projects are under way through the initiative, including the replacement of two water-transmission pipelines between Ferry and Six Miles in St Andrew, which supply water to several communities in St Catherine and the Corporate Area.