Water and building offices by parish

For water supply start with NWC, and for building work with your municipal corporation. These notes hold only what we could read, so some parishes are short. There is no parish table of water hardness because we could not find one; see hard water in Jamaica.

• Kingston and St Andrew

  Building applications: Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation

  Mona Reservoir and Hermitage Dam are NWC's main sources here.

  Read first: Kingston and St Andrew: why the water locks off Do you need building approval for plumbing work?

• St Thomas

  Building applications: St Thomas Municipal Corporation

  Named in the 2026 water Prohibition Notices, as the Gleaner reported them.

  Read first: Water locked off: what to do now Setting up a house to catch rainwater

• St Catherine, including Portmore

  Building applications: St Catherine and Portmore Municipal Corporations

  NWC says Government Park Wells manganese causes Portmore's black water. The WRA found saline intrusion in the Lower Rio Cobre.

  Read first: Portmore and St Catherine: what we know about your water Is the water hard where you live in Jamaica?

• Clarendon

  Building applications: Clarendon Municipal Corporation

  The Rio Minho basin is on the WRA's list of areas open to saline intrusion.

  Read first: A well or spring on your land: licence, testing, risks Is the water hard where you live in Jamaica?

• Manchester

  Building applications: Manchester Municipal Corporation

  Greater Mandeville is fed by lift stations from wells at Peppers, St Elizabeth. One of the parishes PAHO listed as most affected by Melissa.

  Read first: Mandeville and the rural parishes: water when pipes fall short The yard flooded. What about the tank and the septic?

• St Elizabeth

  Building applications: St Elizabeth Municipal Corporation

  Black River basin saline risk, per the WRA, and one of the parishes most affected by Melissa.

  Read first: Mandeville and the rural parishes: water when pipes fall short A well or spring on your land: licence, testing, risks

• Westmoreland

  Building applications: Westmoreland Municipal Corporation

  Melissa made landfall near New Hope on 28 October 2025. NWC's Logwood plant serves Negril to Lucea.

  Read first: Montego Bay and the west: where the water comes from Making drinking water safe after a storm

• Hanover

  Building applications: Hanover Municipal Corporation

  NWC's Great River main runs to Lucea, and Logwood serves Negril to Lucea.

  Read first: Montego Bay and the west: where the water comes from The yard flooded. What about the tank and the septic?

• St James

  Building applications: St James Municipal Corporation

  Applications go to its Roads and Works Department; four full sets of plans for a house, under requirements dated July 2008, so check. NWC runs a sewer system in Montego Bay.

  Read first: Montego Bay and the west: where the water comes from Do you need building approval for plumbing work?

• Trelawny

  Building applications: Trelawny Municipal Corporation

  NWC's Martha Brae plant, restored from 3 to 6 million gallons a day, is tied to this parish.

  Read first: Montego Bay and the west: where the water comes from What salt air does to plumbing near the sea

• St Ann

  Building applications: St Ann Municipal Corporation

  Named in the 2026 Prohibition Notices, as the Gleaner reported them. NWC runs a sewer system in Ocho Rios. 1970 river readings here were hard by the USGS scale.

  Read first: Is the water hard where you live in Jamaica? Water locked off: what to do now

• St Mary

  Building applications: St Mary Municipal Corporation

  Named in the 2026 Prohibition Notices, as the Gleaner reported them.

  Read first: What salt air does to plumbing near the sea Setting up a house to catch rainwater

• Portland

  Building applications: Portland Municipal Corporation

  Named in the 2026 Prohibition Notices, as the Gleaner reported them.

  Read first: Setting up a house to catch rainwater Is rainwater safe to drink?

Source: NWC reservoir levels; NWC impact fees; NWC Mandeville project; NWC wastewater; NWC FAQs; WRA Master Plan 2022; OPM statement, Nov 2025; PAHO situation report, Oct 2025; Gleaner, Aug 2026; St James Municipal Corporation.