National Water Commission (NWC) has moved to assure that it has taken steps to ensure that it keeps its customers supplied with the commodity, during and after the passage of Tropical Storm Melissa.

The assurance was given by the commission’s acting president, Kevin Kerr, at a Jamaica House press briefing Thursday morning.

Kerr told the briefing that at the start of the hurricane season on June 1, the water utility activated its hurricane preparedness and response plan – ensuring that systems, personnel and communication channels were in place to respond swiftly and effectively. He said the commission moved into a heightened state of readiness with the development of Melissa, with key actions taken. These include:

-managers meeting with parish disaster committees;

-heavy equipment, including water trucks and backhoes being prepared or placed on standby in regions where contractor support maybe required;

-private providers of standby generators have been engaged in the event the units are needed;

-storage levels are being filled and secured to support post-storm recovery;

-teams placed on standby to close-off intakes such as Yallahs, to prevent silting and blockage;

-private water truckers have been engaged to ensure critical institutions like hospitals and prisons remain supplied; and

-all existing water restrictions have been lifted to allow customers to store the commodity.

Kerr said that in western Jamaica, particular attention has been given to the Great River water treatment plant which serves Greater Montego Bay and its environs. The acting president noted that this facility is often challenged with high turbidity during heavy rainfall. Some upgrading work has taken place at the facility, including the installation of a more efficient pump and customers should have started seeing the improvement in service as of Thursday, Kerr said.