KINGSTON, Jamaica -The National Water Commission (NWC) is reporting that the Yallahs pipeline is back in full operation.

The pipeline, which supplies water from the Yallahs and Negro rivers to the Mona dam, suffered severe damage during the passage of Hurricane Sandy last October, and has been undergoing extensive repair and reinforcement works since November.

Most of the work on the $75 million project has been completed and the NWC says it was able to put the 19-mile supply line back into operation on December 19, 2012. The Mona dam is now at 100 per cent.

Repair works, being carried out by Kier Construction Limited, include building an access to the Yallahs river bed; dismantling the damaged supporting bridge structure and removing destroyed pipes; design and undertaking of structural engineering replacement works; replacement of pipes and fittings; design, fabrication and installation of new support trusses for the pipeline; slope protection works; and river training to further protect the new infrastructure.

“Now, we’re just doing the finishing touches and the permanent protective work. We expect to be finished by mid-February and then look at some small scale work that needs to be done along the pipeline, little remedial works here and there, so that we can guarantee the integrity of the line,” said Garth Jackson Vice President for Engineering and Project Delivery at the NWC.

But despite the full resumption of supply to the Mona Reservoir, Director of Communications at the NWC, Charles Buchanan, is reminding people to conserve on water as the country is still experiencing a drought.

“One needs to bear in mind that the NWC operates some 460 different water supply systems across the country and while the Yallahs pipeline is a critical piece of the infrastructure, we continue to experience some drought conditions, and so we will continue to implement water management measures on those systems that continue to be affected by drought conditions,” he said.