THE National Water Commission (NWC) says there is a massive drop in water levels at several of the islands major water storage facilities, including the Mona and Hermitage dams that serve the Corporate Area.

Charles Buchanan, the water company’s communication manager, says the Mona and Hermitage dams are among the most severe cases with levels below 50 per cent of their capacity.

“We are encountering the effects of the drought conditions on a number of our water supply systems in parishes like Clarendon, St Thomas, Portland, St Mary, Kingston and St Andrew as well as several other parishes,” Buchanan told the Jamaica Observer on the weekend.

“As of today the Mona Reservoir is presently at 34 per cent of its capacity. The Hermitage Dam is at a 45 per cent,” he confirmed.

The Hermitage dam has the capacity to hold just over 400 million gallons of water while the Mona Reservoir has a 809 million-gallon capacity.

According to Buchanan, based on expected May/June rains, the dams are usually full or near full at this time of the year. However, this year prolonged and extreme drought seriously impacted inflows to the reservoirs and others across the island.

Earlier this month, the NWC announced significant water restrictions for several areas. The water company announced that, in addition to the Constant Spring, Mona and Hope Treatment Plants which are shut down nightly at 8:00 pm until 4:00 am, the Seaview Filter Plant (St Andrew) would also be placed on restriction each night for the same period.

Additionally, customers in Portmore who are served by the Tulloch Spring, and others in St Andrew who are served by the Drummond Filter Plant were put on notice that their supplies, too, would be disrupted for an extended period.

— Kimmo Matthews