KINGSTON, Jamaica — Minister of Water, Environment and Climate Change Matthew Samuda has ordered the National Water Commission (NWC) to review its active work sites across Kingston and St Andrew amid growing frustration over traffic disruptions caused by water infrastructure works.

In a statement on Monday, Samuda acknowledged the frustration being experienced by motorists and residents as a result of ongoing NWC works and emergency repairs, particularly as traffic volumes have increased with the start of the new school year.

“I have expressed to the management of the National Water Commission my concern about the pace of reinstatement in some areas, as well as the adequacy of signage and traffic management at some work sites. These are areas in which we must do better,” Samuda said.

He said he has asked the NWC to review its active work sites across Kingston and St Andrew, with particular attention to the speed of road reinstatement, signage, barricading and the management of traffic around the sites.

Samuda noted that the works are being undertaken against the backdrop of severe drought conditions in Kingston and St Andrew, with the NWC working to bring additional water sources, including wells, into the Corporate Area network.

He pointed to ongoing work at the Molynes Road wells and East Kings Road wells, which he said is aimed at bringing these long-rested sources into operation.

“As additional sources are introduced and water is moved through different sections of the network, there are changes in pressure. Unfortunately, in sections where we have older and more fragile pipelines, these pressure changes can expose weaknesses in the network and result in breaks,” he said.

“That explains some of what residents have been seeing, but it does not lessen the inconvenience when a road has to be excavated or when a community loses its water supply.”

Samuda said the Government’s responsibility is “twofold: get additional water into the system during this drought, while responding to breaks and restoring affected roads as quickly and safely as possible”.

He said he has also made it clear to the NWC that emergency repairs must extend beyond fixing broken pipes.

“From the perspective of the citizen, the job is not finished until the site is safe, appropriately marked and the roadway is properly reinstated,” he said.

Regarding major planned works along the Old Hope Road, Munroe Road and Wellington Drive corridor, Samuda said the Government has already directed that the programme transition principally to night-time work, with intensive work on Sundays and temporary reinstatement of excavated sections to minimise the impact on weekday traffic.

“We know that infrastructure work of this scale will cause some disruption. But ‘necessary work’ cannot become an excuse for unnecessary inconvenience,” he said.

Samuda thanked motorists, residents, businesses, parents and students for their patience, while assuring them that he was aware of the concerns being raised.

He said he expects the NWC and its contractors to improve the management, communication and turnaround time associated with the works.

“We have to modernise an ageing water network and build the resilience Kingston and St Andrew urgently need. But we must do that while respecting the daily lives of the people we serve,” Samuda said.