Dear Claudienne

I have a sixteen-year old problem caused by the National Water Commission which has taken a turn for the worst. It seems that I might need legal representation to settle this matter once and for all. However, given some family obligations, I am not able to be in Jamaica at this time.

In the meantime, my tenant and housekeeper are without water as the NWC has disconnected the supply. They are demanding thousands of dollars for water that they know was not used.

The NWC has known and acknowledged the problem since the 1990s. I have had internal pressure valves installed on my property since it was built. I have had to change this device four times because of the excessive external water pressure from the NWC pumping station which destroyed them. These devices are very expensive and are supposed to last at least 10-15 years. The normal water pressure reading should be 40-60. Yet it was found to be 145 at the time of day the NWC representative came. We checked it the next morning at 6:30 am and found it to be 180.

The first time we knew there was a problem, was in the mid 90s when we had just gotten a bill for 172,000 gallons of water. We looked and noticed that we did not have a swimming pool; neither a leak. We contacted the NWC which investigated and found that the excessive pressure had actually destroyed the meter that gave the erroneous reading. I had paid the bill of $30,000 at the time as I had foreigners living in the house and did not want the service to be interrupted while I was away. The NWC then changed the meter but up until today I have not been refunded my $30,000.

In 2003-2004 the problem surfaced again. This time the water tore up my walls, tiles and water heater. I declined to pay the excessive bill and the then manager at the NWC Church Street office allowed me to pay a fixed sum until they conducted an investigation. Again they found that it was the excessive pressure. The NWC then installed a device on my premises, adjusted my bill and put my account in credit.

In September 2009 the problem surfaced again and did extensive damage.

The walls of my house had to be chopped in six places and my powder room vanity was destroyed. The powder room ceiling was completely stripped of its paint showing the concrete underneath. Parts of the floor of my tenant’s kitchen had to be torn up. The kitchen and bathroom floors of the housekeeper’s quarters also had to be torn up. I was overseas when this happened, so I arranged for the plumbing job to be done and continued to pay the enormous water bills until I was able to return home and deal with it.

In the meantime a complaint was made to the NWC Maurescaux facility and they said they were aware of the problem and would install a device to take care of it. I then advised them that I would not pay for water that was not used or caused to go to waste. I recalled that I had done that before and was never reimbursed. However, I would continue to pay the regular bill while they tried to find a solution.

Of course, the solution did not happen. Instead they staged a series of disconnections.

The tenant would call the NWC and the water would be reconnected and the company would say that the disconnection was a mistake. The device was never installed and now despite the fact that the bills were always paid the water has been disconnected and the NWC is demanding a payment of $60,000 in order to do a reconnection.

I have made a report to the OUR and was told to send e-mails to the NWC area manager and other NWC executives. I have sent the e-mails but I have not heard from any of them.

The judge will have to tell me that it is my responsibility to hire an engineer to harness the water pressure that comes from the NWC pumping station to my house.

Please see what you can find out for me.

GT.

Dear GT

Tell Claudienne contacted the NWC. The public relations manager of the NWC sent us the following e-mail.

“I am to advise that in the interest of good customer relations the NWC has decided to have the account in question adjusted downwards to reflect water credit and a reversal of reconnection fee totalling $330,444.81.

“This leaves an amount due and payable of $43,544.80.

“This the Commission has done without prejudice and with the interest of resolving a protracted issue.”

In regard to the excessive water pressure on your property, a NWC vice president told Tell Claudienne that the Commission was taking steps to reduce the pressure. He said that a Pressure Reducing Valve (PRV) should be installed by the end of the month. The PRV will regulate the pressure of the water supply going to your premises to the prescribed standard. We will follow this up.

Good luck.