JAMAICA IS currently experiencing drought conditions, with some areas being severely affected.
However, the National Water Commission (NWC) is assuring customers that all necessary measures are being employed to ensure that adequate water supplies are maintained across the island.
Charles Buchanan, corporate public relations manager of the NWC, said that about 30 per cent of the commission's 460 water supply systems have been significantly impacted by the drought conditions.
NOT IN LINE WITH EXPECTATIONS
While it is normal to have a considerably reduced amount of rainfall at this time of the year, Mr. Buchanan noted that the situation was not in line with expectations. "When compared to the 30-year mean average, the rainfall for the last several months has been particularly low in some sections of the island. We have had 52 per cent of the normal average rainfall in December, and we have had 69 per cent in January. So we have a situation where just about one-half of what was normally expected has been received across the country," he said.
Providing a breakdown of the situation islandwide, Mr. Buchanan pointed out that while the dry conditions "will fluctuate from parish to parish, it is particularly severe in its impact on southern parishes, including Kingston and St. Andrew, St. Thomas, St. Catherine, Clarendon, Manchester and St. Elizabeth. It has also been lower than normal and going into drought conditions for sections of Trelawny and St. Ann."
The public relations manager explained to JIS News that the effects of the drought would also vary across the island, based on the type of water supply system that served a particular area.
"At the moment, the systems which are most severely affected are the water supply systems that are fed from surface sources, such as rivers. Most of our well sources are not as severely affected. It also impacts our smaller water supply systems to a greater extent than it does our larger water supply systems," he said.
NWC wants to know
The NWC is actively pursuing measures aimed at reducing the impact of breakage and water loss from the system and is carefully harnessing available resources for delivery to customers. Customers are being asked to call the commission's toll-free line at: 1888-CALL-NWC (1 888-225-5692) to report breaks or other instances of water being wasted.
