KINGSTON, Jamaica – The National Water Commission (NWC) is reporting a high state of preparedness during this hurricane season, having activated its disaster risk management protocols to mitigate against any level of impact on its facilities islandwide.

The utility’s water and wastewater facilities are usually susceptible to varying degrees of impact due to the effects of major weather conditions, and NWC says with most of its systems and network infrastructure spread across remote areas, its facilities are prone to factors such as flooding, intake blockages, landslides, and overflowing of wastewater manholes due to excesses in storm water breaches.

NWC President Mark Barnett says he has already placed on high alert all NWC employees to be ready to respond to any eventualities. Additionally, other steps implemented include the restocking of emergency supplies; maintenance of standby generators for deployment to major facilities; tighter monitoring of water storage levels, and frequent review meetings with senior managers.

“Notwithstanding these efforts, the NWC is cautioning that in the event of a hurricane or disaster, there is the likely possibility of disruptions to its operations. The utility is therefore imploring customers to be prepared and be safe,” the NWC said.