KINGSTON, Jamaica — Non-revenue water (NRW) is “a crisis” that Jamaica must fix with alacrity, according to the Minister of Water, Environment and Climate Change, Matthew Samuda.

The Minister made the declaration during his contribution to the Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives on April 28.

“I be direct about one of the most serious structural problems in Jamaica’s water system: non-revenue water. NRW is water that is produced, treated, and pumped, but never reaches a paying customer,” Samuda noted.

He added that NRW drives up energy costs, constrains available supply, and makes the state-owned National Water Commission financially unsustainable if left unaddressed.

“NRW is acknowledged as a crisis that we must fix,” Samuda declared.

He told the House that the island-wide NRW Reduction Programme, valued at over US$340 million and phased over 11 years, will target reduced NRW from 71 per cent to 30 per cent.

“It is already in procurement through international competitive bidding,” he disclosed.

Stating that Jamaica has a NRW target of 30 per cent by 2035, Samuda said, “The annual financial return is clear: $10.7 billion, comprising J$7.7 billion in additional revenue from improved billing and collection; J$2.8 billion in electricity savings; and J$167 million in chemical cost savings”.

“We are already seeing these benefits in Kingston, St Andrew, and Portmore. The case for taking this programme island-wide is not complicated.  It pays for itself,” said Samuda.

—  Lynford Simpson