THE National Water Commission (NWC) has spent more than $3 billion on the country’s sewerage systems over the last few years, and has set a 2020 goal for central sewerage systems in all major towns.

A treatment facility at Harbour View will likely be one of the first projects undertaken.

According to the NWC’s corporate public relations manager, Charles Buchanan, the NWC had inherited a treatment plant for the area that had been ravaged by “aggressive” environmental conditions such as the salt air. Over the years, deterioration has continued apace and now the facility was not serving any “significant purpose,” he said.

“There is a need for a new sewage treatment facility for Harbour View, but in the meantime there is still a functional sewage conveyance system, which pumps sewage away from the homes. The commission is, therefore, committed to putting in place a solution for Harbour View in the shortest possible time,” Buchanan explained.

“The Minister last year indicated a series of steps which we are undertaking to correct the problems in Harbour View, and that also is part of the programme for the correction of sewage-related problems in the Greater Kingston area,” he added. “In fact, there is an urgent need to deal with the situation. We expect that will be one of the first of our sewage projects.”

Over the last five years, the corporate public relations manager maintained, the NWC had spent more on improving sewerage systems than at any previous time in history.

Buchanan, who was addressing the JIS Think Tank last Wednesday, cited new sewage schemes in Negril, Montego Bay and Ocho Rios.

“Those new schemes are working well, protecting not only the tourism product in those areas, but significantly protecting the health of the local and visiting populations, as well as the environmental ambiance of the area,” he said.

In addition to these major projects, Buchanan cited other projects which he described as “less bulky and with less funds, but nonetheless significant as well, in terms of minor improvements at several of the other wastewater plants we have across the island.”

One of the major projects for 2004, the Port Antonio Water Supply, Sewage and Drainage Project, is in keeping with the utility company’s mandate to safely collect, treat and dispose of wastewater.

“The objective is that by the year 2020, we will have all major towns in Jamaica outfitted with a proper central sewerage system,” Buchanan said.

The NWC official said the utility company was committed to protecting the environment and public health, especially in relation to sewage and wastewater disposal. He cited, however, instances where the commission was not fulfilling its mandate, but indicated that steps were being taken to rectify the problems.

In the case of the Kingston Harbour for example, Buchanan suggested that there were several factors contributing to its pollution.

“While we accept that sewage – and sewage in relation to the NWC – is a contributing factor, and we are dealing with that, it is to be recognised that there are many other contributing factors as well; the run-off from the gullies, from the Rio Cobre, industrial discharges etc,” Buchanan told JIS News.