KINGSTON, Jamaica – Substantial progress is being made to implement aspects of the multi-million US dollar Portmore non-revenue water (NRW) reduction programme, which is aimed at dramatically improving the water supply service to residents and businesses of the St Catherine community.

The National Water Commission (NWC) says the audit phase of the project is progressing smoothly with bulk meter installation being done at the NWC’s main water treatment plant and at all the wells.

“Through the bulk meter installation aspect of the project, important baseline information about the level of losses is accurately measured as water from input sources such as wells is assessed to match it with the billed volume that is charged to customers,” the utility said.

“Data from the audit phase will also yield important information about the nature and scope of any existing illegal connections.

“Logger devices are now installed at premises as well and these allow the flow and pressure of water to be measured on a 24-hour basis from remote locations. It is important that the appropriate pressure flows through pipes as too much can damage the pipeline infrastructure while too little causes frustration among the enterprise’s customer base. Maintaining water pressure at controlled levels is a significant component of the NRW reduction project.”

The NWC said additionally, the excavation and the investigations of the main pipes and connections of the existing network are now underway.

“Through this process, a thorough assessment to replace aged pipelines is carried out so that the municipality will have durable pipe infrastructure to serve its population and meet demand over a sustained period. With these investigations, one can also verify the existing quality and the size of the pipes and this information helps with the procurement process for new materials if required,” NWC said.

Meanwhile, NWC said the preparation of further formal engagements are now underway as a means to reaching out to the various stakeholders — including the business community, various citizens groups and key NGOs.

The Portmore NRW reduction programme is being carried out by the NWC in partnership with MIYA/Jamaica.