ST CATHERINE, Jamaica — After five days without running water, including being forced to enter 2021 bathing out of bath pans, a resident of Green Acres in St Catherine has joined others who have been affected, in blasting the National Water Commission (NWC) for its slackness.

In a letter to the media, copied to the utility company, the resident said for five days now, there has been no piped water in a large section of the Green Acres community — for paying customers who have had to do without the supply all during the Christmas and New Year holidays.

“And [the] company seems indifferent to our plight!” the resident lamented.

“Calls to your St Catherine operations personnel, as well as contact with your online chat customer service agents, informed that leak repairs across the parish have caused us to lose piped water in Green Acres. Why is it taking so long to effect these repairs? And why were customers not informed via the news media of this disruption, at such a time when we all rely on the service— even more than at other times of the year? Appalling!”

The resident said the suggestion was made that water could be trucked, but attempts to have this done in the past have all failed.

“In the meantime, our tanks are almost empty and many of us have had to bathe out of wash tubs and buckets in this the 21st century,” she said.

“We’re beyond tired of your despicable service!”

Water supply has also been sporadic in nearby areas over the holiday period, with loss of supply for days on end in communities including Greendale, St Jago, Central Village and Twickenham, with no advice provided by the NWC about what has been causing the issues.