The Editor, Sir:

The National Water Commission (NWC) is compelled to respond to a letter to the Editor published in The Gleaner of September 5. For the record, it is not true that Perkins Estate is without water 40 per cent of the time and as at the date of publication of the letter, water had been restored to Perkins Estate several days earlier. Like more than 90 per cent of our customers, piped service has been restored through the hard work of our dedicated restoration crews mere days after the storm.

We would wish this was not the case, but water supply systems everywhere around the world are unavoidably vulnerable to damage and disruptions from hurricanes, storms and other extreme weather events. There is no such thing as a "hurricane-proof" or "storm-proof" water supply system.

Add to this reality, the peculiar challenges of the Jamaican topography and soil conditions, the extensive network of 9,000 kilometres of pipelines and more than 1,000 exposed facilities stretching across the country's hilly, landslide-prone terrain, as well as the age of the infrastructure and one will begin to comprehend the enormity of providing potable water to more than two million Jamaicans in the aftermath of a natural disaster.

no guaranteed piped supply

The bottom-line is that no one can be guaranteed piped supply of water in the immediate aftermath of an extreme weather event. That is why we urge customers to store water in the event of a disruption. It appears the letter writer either did not store water or did not use the water stored in a prudent manner especially since she has a tank yet was out of water the day after the storm's passage.

The public should also be aware that after every storm impact, the Commission, at great cost, engages in a coordinated trucking of water to our customers free of charge utilising contracted services of the Rapid Response Unit, private trucks and the NWC's own water trucks. It is however totally impossible to deliver trucked water to every customer everywhere. Separately, the NWC in the aftermath of a hurricane provides water to private truckers who provide a private service to individuals. This is separate from the free service paid for by the NWC.

I am, etc.,

CHARLES BUCHANAN

Corporate Public Relations

Manager

National Water Commission