Portmore, Jamaica. National Water Commission. (NWC)

In 2021, MIYA Jamaica signed a 5-year performance-based co-management project with Jamaica’s National Water Commission (NWC) to maximize the efficiency of the water distribution system in Portmore, a region with a population of just over 250,000. 

To date, benefits from the Portmore project have been improved customer service delivery, enhanced operational efficiency, and improved water distribution conditions. 

NWC in the Portmore region now delivers pressure to its customers at an acceptable level meeting the operational requirement of the Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR), thus giving vastly improved customer satisfaction, with huge energy and water savings.

In the initial 2 years since the inception of the project, MIYA and the NWC have been able to reduce water losses from 26,000 to 13,000 m3/day, corresponding to 80% of NRW reduction to target (10,000 m3/day).

In percentage terms in the initial 2 years, the Portmore system dropped from 61% of NRW 46%.

Additionally, regarding energy, the power consumption of wells and pump stations in Portmore has been reduced from 146,300 kWh to 96,600 kWh, a monthly reduction of around 50,000 kWh, giving an accumulative saving of $280,000 USD in this initial 27-month period.

In 2023 the project was Honored with Prestigious Award for Innovation in Building Healthy Watersheds at the WEX Congress.