The state-owned National Water Commission (NWC) has lifted all water restrictions islandwide, its acting President, Kevin Kerr has said.

Kerr said this would ensure residents will have an opportunity to fill their storage as of Tuesday morning, ahead of Hurricane Beryl, which is expected to impact Jamaica on Wednesday.

He was speaking at a Monday afternoon press briefing at the Office of the Prime Minister, following a meeting of the Disaster Risk Management Committee.

Also, Kerr said the commission’s gasoline storage will be replenished to ensure that water trucks, both NWC and privately owned, will have access to fuel in the event of service disruption.

“We have also ensured that all pumping stations that were out of operation are put back in service to ensure business continuity and service reliability during the period,” he said.

The acting president said the NWC will operate all facilities up until the point when there is no more power supply. He said critical facilities have standby power to ensure service in areas where hospitals are located.

Kerr told the press briefing that the water utility has moved to reinforce its disaster plan and will be collaborating with other agencies such as the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management and the municipal corporations.

It has reviewed its procurement of emergency supplies and has put in place additional chemicals that will be needed for water treatment.

Additionally, all storage tanks will be filled by Tuesday, against the background that most of the surface sources are impacted by turbidity.