NWC Opens Meter Testing and Calibration Lab

The National Water Commission (NWC) has increased its capacity to test meters with the opening of an Instrumentation and Meters Laboratory.

The calibration facility is also the first in Jamaica to be certified by the Jamaica National Agency for Accreditation (JANAAC).

In his address at the ribbon-cutting ceremony at the NWC’s head office on Marescaux Road in Kingston on Wednesday (July 19), Minister without portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Senator the Hon. Matthew Samuda, said it is a step in the right direction.

“You’ve increased capacity for testing with best-in-class equipment. That’s a big deal! Confidence in Jamaica is critical. I want my team members, when they go into the field, to be able to speak definitively about the work that the NWC does, and this is one such tool that will help you to speak definitively when you speak to customers,” he said.

Minister Samuda said it is critical for the NWC to redouble efforts to ensure that every drop of water counts.

“We are in choppy waters. The climate has changed [and] will continue to change at a pace that, perhaps, was not projected… at this early stage. We saw the driest cumulative six months in Jamaica’s history between October of last year and March this year. We’re not out of the drought yet,” he pointed out.

The Government invested more than $4 billion last year in the storage, processing, and distribution capacity of the NWC, and Minister Samuda said another $7 billion will be spent this year.

NWC Vice President of Operations, Kevin Kerr, in his remarks, said the state-of-the-art lab is fully accredited to meet the Commission’s meter testing and calibration operations.

“Our newest test bench now takes approximately 55 minutes to execute the test of a 5/8” meter. This process would normally take four to five hours. In addition, we can test up to 20 meters in one single session, if necessary,” Mrs. Kerr pointed out.

He noted that with the growth in NWC’s customer base, meter installations are expected to increase.

“The testing and verification of each batch of meters that we connect to our customer supplies is of paramount importance to our billing process. For us, demonstrating the integrity of the meters we source, install and use to capture consumption volume is a small price to pay to assure our customers that their charges are accurate,” he said, adding that it should lead to more satisfied customers and well-needed income to the NWC to continue improvement works.

Meanwhile, CEO of JANAAC, Sharonmae Shirley, extended congratulations to the NWC for its accreditation to the ISO/IEC 17025 standard for calibration and measurement activities in the field of mass and volume for water meters.

“When you have a test report with a stamp that says you are accredited by JANAAC, because JANAAC is internationally recognised, you too will have that breadth of international recognition for your services,” Ms. Shirley remarked.