Bucknor residents turned on by NWC

Hundreds of residents of Bucknor and surrounding districts in Clarendon now have potable water, thanks to a pump that was activated in the community at a cost of $7 million.

The residents came out in large numbers at the Bucknor Community Centre on Saturday, November 2, to sign up to become paying customers of the National Water Commission (NWC).

Dubbed 'Water Day', community relations manager for the Eastern Division of the NWC, Delano Williams, told CENTRAL STAR that the event was put on in collaboration with the Jamaica Social Investment Fund that assisted with infrastructure such as pipe-laying and installed a new pump in the Bucknor-Rectory Land area, and repaired the old one for the residents.

Williams said customers have begun to visit the NWC office to make inquiries about their status and have demonstrated a willingness to care for the service.

"It is a positive sign; every time we call them for meetings they are responsive, and the political representatives are also responsive," he said.

All accounts will eventually be metered, but in the meantime, customers have received conservation and general services tips on how to prevent leaks, contain consumption, read their meters to better monitor consumption and manage their bills.

Warren Green, parish manager for the Ministry of Labour and Social Security's office in Clarendon, told CENTRAL STAR that his team was invited to come and assist any vulnerable persons in the community.

"We are here to sensitise them about what we provide through the ministry. Those who come thinking that they can go on PATH, we are discovering that they are eligible for national insurance, so we are showing them how to register," Green said.