NWC Adds 9,071 New Connections

The National Water Commission (NWC) added 9,071 new connections to its network in 2021.

According to the Planning Institute of Jamaica’s Economic and Social Survey Jamaica, 2021, the number of connections to the NWC’s network increased to 527,270 from 518,199, due mainly to an expansion in housing and commercial building stocks.

“This increase in connections resulted from a higher number of connections in Kingston, St. Andrew and St. Thomas (142,935 from 141,068) and other parishes (384,335 from 377,131),” the report stated.

Water production by the NWC also grew by 1.0 per cent to 336,497.9 megalitres compared with 2020.

The report noted that the increase in water production was driven by increases of 1.9 per cent to 73,141.5 megalitres in output from Kingston, St. Andrew and St. Thomas and 0.7 per cent to 263,356.4 megalitres in output from other parishes.

Water consumption also grew by 0.9 per cent to 83,855.1 megalitres compared with 2020.

“This resulted from increases of 0.5 per cent to 31,708.3 megalitres in consumption in Kingston, St. Andrew and St. Thomas and 1.1 per cent to 52,146.7 megalitres in consumption by the category other parishes,” the report said.

Kingston and St. Andrew accounted for the largest share of consumption (35.2 per cent) followed by St. Catherine (19.2 per cent).

This growth in water consumption was attributed to higher demand linked to the relaxation of measures implemented to restrict the spread of COVID-19 and an increase in the level of rainfall compared with 2020.

Meanwhile, the report noted that the NWC’s revenue increased by 11.1 per cent to $38.1 billion, due to growth in the number of connections and an increase in the water and sewerage rates charged to customers.

“This increase in revenue reflected increases of 11.7 per cent to $15.4 billion in revenues for Kingston, St. Andrew and St. Thomas and 10.7 per cent to $22.7 billion in revenues for other parishes,” the report stated.