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Dr. Christopher Burgess, civil engineer, land developer and managing director of CEAC Solutions
Civil engineer and developer Dr. Christopher Burgess is calling for greater transparency in the reporting by the National Water Commission (NWC) on water quality tests.
There has been controversy surrounding the release of the findings after the NWC opted to cease sharing its water quality reports with the Kingston and St. Andrew Municipal Corporation.
This comes after questions were raised about the level of faecal coliform in the water supplied by the Commission.
Water Minister Matthew Samuda has said the NWC is not legally required to provide water quality reports to municipalities.
But Dr. Burgess says the failure rate of the water tested is cause for concern.
"And so there is something to answer there and this lack of transparency I think breeds fear. Water is life and we all know that poor quality water can make us sick. So let us not get into words and legalese. Let us address the public fear and be more transparent about it," he argued.
Dr. Burgess sought to clarify the requirement of the NWC in providing reports on water quality.
"What the Public Health Act says is that it is the municipality's responsibility to report to the Ministry of Health any concern. And the way they can report is if the report is given to them in the first instance, or if they develop such a report to report to the Ministry of Health that the water is bad. So is it really relevant when we're talking about public health here? We're talking about 400,000 persons in Kingston and St. Andrew and their health. Shouldn't it be in the minister's interest to reassure us that our water is safe? Well, not even him; to allow the experts, the true experts to weigh in on the matter. The results in the January and February reports are pretty clear. The water is failing to meet the standards," he maintained.
He was speaking Monday on Radio Jamaica's Beyond the Headlines.
Dr. Burgess said the Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR) should also address issues relating to the quality of water supplied by the National Water Commission.
"I'd like to have OUR be a little bit more responsible with the licence that they're issuing. You can't just issue the paperwork and turn your back. The public is relying on you as the utility regulator to make sure that the water that we're getting meets the standards that you have in the licence. The licence clearly says in overall standards 99% compliance and the reports must be done on a monthly basis. Just do your work," Dr. Burgess demanded.