By Prince Moore
The National Water Commission (NWC) says the increase in its revenue is a result of strong financial operations undertaken over several years.
Prime Minister Andrew Holness in his budget presentation last week indicated that the NWC's financial performance has shown a turn-around from $2.13 billion in losses to a profit of $2.73 billion.
Charles Buchanan, Communications and Public Affairs Manager at the NWC, says the various strategic initiatives undertaken by the commission are bearing fruit.
"They include improving customer satisfaction and public image, increasing operational efficiency and service reliability. Thirdly, improved coverage in terms of areas of service, revenues and cash flows, and improved staff and institutional capacity, which has to do with productivity and so on."
Mr. Buchanan said a number of projects will be undertaken to improve water supply to communities across the island.
"We're looking at identifying those areas in which the least amount of capital investment would be able to yield the greatest amount of improvement in service reliability, improvement in revenue, improvement in efficiency and customer satisfaction. And a number of those projects have been identified already and are being undertaken across the country," he said.
Catchments
The National Water Commission has said the Corporate Area's two main catchments remain at 50 per cent of capacity despite recent rainfall.
Mr. Buchanan said there has been no meaningful improvement in the utility provider's catchments.
He said there continues to be reduced inflows in critical watersheds such as the Hope River.
"We need more rain over more days, especially in the critical watershed, so that we are able to see increased inflows coming in those critical streams. So, for example, I went up to the Hope River to look with much expectation and hope that I would have seen some increased flows coming down the river into the Hope and Mona systems, but unfortunately, nothing has changed there."
He encouraged customers to continue to conserve on water.
Mr. Buchanan was speaking Thursday on Beyond the Headlines.
