MAY PEN, Clarendon — Some residents of Rocky Point in this parish may find themselves hauled before the courts by the National Water Commission (NWC). Frustrated by their failure to pay up, the State-run utility company is hoping the courts will be able to help.

“Rocky Point is having challenges as its citizens are not paying their bills, and we are going to do something about that. I believe that the NWC has reached out to Rocky Point more than any other community. But I believe that when you have done enough and the citizenry is not accepting responsibility as they should, then you have no other alternative than to act and act within the rules and the laws so that they will know we are serious,” warned the NWC’s zonal team leader Devon Johnson.

He was speaking during Thursday’s regular monthly meeting of the Clarendon Municipal Corporation.

Pointing to the significant investment that the NWC has made in the community and efforts made to work with citizens, a strident Johnson made it clear the utility company has had enough.

“New pipes have been laid, we have met with the citizens, and our PR [public relations] team from Kingston has had meetings upon meetings. We have charted a course how we want to move on to get the people registered and organised [so] that they can get water in their premises and pay their bills. It is, however, surprising the percentage of people that took up the offer — very, very surprising” he stated.

There has been significant “pushback” from the residents of Rocky Point, he said.

“I don’t know if it is a cultural problem or what, but we have some serious problems at Rocky Point and we need to collect the money. The NWC cannot operate 24/7 giving people water and when the time comes for them to bear their responsibility they are not coming forward,” Johnson added.

He drew a comparison with the neighbouring communities of Mitchell Town and Portland Cottage whose residents, he said, have been honouring their monthly obligations to the agency.

Mayor Winston Maragh, who is also councillor for the Rocky Point Division, agreed with Johnson and said he understood the NWC’s frustration. He has pledged to continue cooperating with the utility company to build a working relationship.

This would not be the first time the NWC has taken clients to court. In 2019 it said civil lawsuits were being prepared for 36 delinquent customers, part of a wider drive to collect outstanding balances from customers and those who were illegally using the NWC supply in St Thomas, Portland and St Mary. The overdue amount, then, was more than $187 million.