KINGSTON, Jamaica — A full day after a widespread islandwide power outage swept across Jamaica overnight Friday and into early Saturday morning, approximately 65,000 domestic and commercial customers connected to the National Water Commission (NWC) still lack running water, accounting for 12 percent of the utility’s total customer base across the country.
The update was delivered Saturday afternoon by Minister of Water, Environment and Climate Change Matthew Samuda during a joint press briefing held at the headquarters of the Jamaica Public Service (JPS), the nation’s primary electricity provider. Energy, Transport and Telecommunications Minister Daryl Vaz joined Samuda for the briefing on ongoing recovery efforts.
Samuda outlined the core reason behind the lingering water access gaps, explaining that water system recovery follows a far slower timeline than power restoration. “The timing associated with charging an electricity line is a much shorter period than the timeline associated with backfilling water lines that ran dry because of the power outages that affected our power systems,” he told reporters.
Initial damage and system assessments completed Saturday confirmed that the country’s largest water treatment facilities and primary pumping stations have successfully resumed operations, Samuda confirmed. However, full service restoration in multiple communities will be held up by residual electrical issues that continue to impact water infrastructure located in the parishes of Clarendon, St Elizabeth, and St James. Even though JPS managed to restore power to nearly all customers by early Saturday, unexpected inclement weather later that day triggered new, localized power outages in several regions, complicating recovery work.
“While primary production facilities are rebounding quickly, our immediate priority is maintaining backup power systems and mobilising localised maintenance support to safely restart other systems and rebuild critical storage capacity in the lagging parishes,” Samuda said, adding that the government is prioritizing targeted support to hard-hit areas to speed up service returns.
The minister also released a detailed, parish-by-parish breakdown of the current status of water infrastructure across the country:
– Kingston and St Andrew (KSA): All major water systems are fully operational
– St Catherine: Most regional networks are back online, with the key Spanish Town Treatment Plant running normally. The Old Harbour network has been hit by a secondary power outage that is disrupting service to both Old Harbour and New Harbour communities.
– Manchester: Core water production facilities are operational, and storage and distribution tanks are currently being refilled. Gradual service restoration is expected for the Ingleside, New Green, Pusey Hill and Warwick re-lift stations, as well as the Perth Estate storage facility.
– Clarendon: Persistent water outages remain in effect across southern parts of the parish, impacting residents in New Town, Preddie, Kemps Hill, Milk River and Longville Park.
– St James: The Great River water system has been fully restored, while Terminal Reservoir and Appleton Hall tanks are in the process of being refilled. Temporary service disruptions are reported in Torado Heights, Rhyne Park, Cornwall Courts, Ironshore, Norwood, and Farm Heights.
– Trelawny: The Martha Brae water system is fully operational.
– St Elizabeth: All core systems have been restored, including the Benlomonds, Union, Bogue, Burnt Savannah, Hounslow, Content, and Southampton networks.
– St Ann: The Bogue and Harrison Town networks are back online, while the Minard plant is still undergoing assessment after experiencing an electrical trip during the blackout.
– Hanover: Maintenance crews are currently on-site carrying out repairs to the Shettlewood water system.
– Portland: The Grant’s Level system is operating at just 30 percent of its normal output, running on temporary generator power. Minor secondary facilities are scheduled for maintenance work.
– St Mary: Localized service disruptions are limited to the Iterboreale and Annotto Bay areas.
– St Thomas and Westmoreland: Full on-site field assessments are still ongoing, with formal updates to be released once evaluations are complete.