Sat | Oct 18, 2025

$10b project to boost MoBay water supply – NWC engineer

Published:Friday | September 12, 2025 | 12:10 AM
Aubyn Green (right), acting water production engineer at the National Water Commission, addressing Thursday’s St James Municipal Corporation meeting. Also pictured are (from left) Kenisha Vascianna, the Jamaica Fire Brigade’s acting superintendent for
Aubyn Green (right), acting water production engineer at the National Water Commission, addressing Thursday’s St James Municipal Corporation meeting. Also pictured are (from left) Kenisha Vascianna, the Jamaica Fire Brigade’s acting superintendent for St James; and Sherika Lewis, the acting chief public health inspector for St James.

WESTERN BUREAU:

Aubyn Green, acting water production engineer at the National Water Commission (NWC), says that ongoing water supply challenges in Montego Bay will be significantly improved once the Western Resilience Pipeline Project begins.

Speaking at Thursday’s monthly meeting of the St James Municipal Corporation (StJMC), Green explained that while he could not give an exact start date or project timeline, the $10-billion investment should take less than four years to complete.

“We recently had a breakage out by Rose Hall in the vicinity of Burger King, and when that happens, it disrupts supply to the hotels and to our customers. Due to the reduction in pumping hours, we are unable to get the amount of water from our Martha Brae facility [in Trelawny] to supplement the Great River Treatment Plant, and the impact of the reduced pumping is that the Terminal facility does not get that water,” said Green.

Improve reliability

He noted that the Western Resilience Pipeline Project will replace aging infrastructure, improving water flow and service delivery across Montego Bay and surrounding areas.

The project, listed in the 2025-26 Public Bodies Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure, will include the installation of 29 kilometres of pipelines from Martha Brae to Montego Bay and the replacement of lines between Lucea, Hanover and Negril, Westmoreland. It aims to improve service reliability across St Ann, Trelawny, St James, and the Hanover-Westmoreland border.

Green also addressed the current low water pressure in some Montego Bay communities, citing high turbidity – cloudiness caused by silt, clay, and organic matter – as a major issue.

“We are currently in the rainy season, and we normally experience high turbidity levels at many of our facilities. Chief among them is the Great River Treatment Plant ... . Our production level has been reduced to approximately 75 per cent, and it is affecting storage levels at Terminal and Appleton Hall,” said Green.

He noted that areas such as Norwood, Ocean Ridge, and Rose Heights are reporting low water pressure or no-water issues as a result.

christopher.thomas@gleanerjm.com