cawasa inc e-source newsletter - june 2015

In thIs Issue

January-April 2015Caribbean Water and Sewage Association Inc.

Reducing Water Loss in Saint Lucia Page 2 CAWASA Secretariat News Pages 3, 4 and 8 Anguilla Kisses Water Rationing Goodbye! Page 5 World Water Day 2015: Facts and Figures Pages 6 and 7

Dominica and St. Vincent in Mourning Page 8 CaribDA to Meet in Mexico 1 Regional Stakeholders Collaborate for Water Page 11 Multilateral Water MoU Signed in Barcelona Page 12

Climate Knowledge and Understanding can

Lessen Water Woes!

e-Source July-December 2014

The Caribbean Water and Sewerage Association (CAWASA) last month coordinated another in the series of training workshops facilitated by the CONSULAQUA group of Hamburg, Germany for WASCO. This one was held April 22 – April 24, 2015.

The Strategic Alliance for Water Loss Reduction (STA), with the support of the GIZ (German International Development Agency), was on its fourth mission to Saint Lucia to conduct training in Network and Hydrau-lic for WASCO.

This part of a GIZ technical cooperation programme with WASCO looked at “Utility Support of Saint Lu-cia’s Water and Sewerage Company Inc. (WASCO) – Water Loss Reduction and Energy Efficiency”.

WASCO invited its regional partner utilities, through the Caribbean Water and Sewerage Association (CA-WASA), to participate in the training workshop.

Technical staff of the Barbados Water Authority (BWA) and the Central Water & Sewerage Authority of St. Vincent & the Grenadines participated in the workshop, as well as the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College (SALCC).

The participation of teaching staff of the SALCC is and was very important to the programme, as it is envis-aged that SALCC should be integral to the development of a regional training centre for water loss reduction.

The previous workshop held in March 2015 on ‘Energy Efficiency’ was attended by technicians from the Dominica Water and Sewerage Corporation (DOWASCO), the Nevis Water Department and the Belize Wa-ter Services (BWS).

The March 24 to April 3 saw the participants conduct training in Energy Audits and Leak Detection for WASCO, which had also invited its regional partner utilities, through CAWASA, to participate, including the SALCC.

WASCO/GIZ/CONSOLQUA and CAWASA collaborated towards

Water Loss Reduction and Energy Efficiency in Saint Lucia

WASCO/GIZ/STA and CAWASA collaborated towards Water Loss Reduction and Energy

Efficiency in Saint Lucia

The Caribbean Water and Sewerage Association (CAWASA) last month coordinated another in

the series of training workshops facilitated by the CONSULAQUA group of Hamburg, Germany

for WASCO. This one was held April 22 – April 24, 2015.

The Strategic Alliance for Water Loss Reduction (STA), with the support of the GIZ (German

International Development Agency), was on its fourth mission to Saint Lucia to conduct training

in Network and Hydraulic for WASCO.

This part of a GIZ technical cooperation programme with WASCO looked at “Utility Support of

Saint Lucia’s Water and Sewerage Company Inc. (WASCO) – Water Loss Reduction and

Energy Efficiency”.

WASCO invited its regional partner utilities, through the Caribbean Water and Sewerage

Association (CAWASA), to participate in the training workshop.

Editorial

Participants charted and assessed the problems of water loss throughout the Caribbean during the two workshops in Saint Lucia.

Lively exchanges of shared regional experiences pervaded throughout the discussions at both workshops.

Mad Max - Beyond the Thunderdome! That hit movie (starring Mel Gibson and Tina Turn-er) was all about a futuristic war for water. The liquid source of life had become so rare world-wide that nations and communities fought fierce battles over the scarce resource.

The film was fiction, but the story was about a real possibility. The way water is wasted the world over today suggests we still think it’s an everlasting resource that can and will always re-plenish itself. We don’t have to scout the world for examples as they exist right here across the Caribbean. We see broken pipes spilling water for hours or days before being repaired. Lawns are mechanically watered with pipe water for seemingly endless periods. We still wash cars with tap water. We allow water to run in the bath for as long as we’re in there. We ignore leaking taps, oblivious to the amounted amount wasted through sustained leakages.

Because Water is always there, we don’t look beyond out our taps – or our eyebrows. We don’t realize that while we are surrounded by water and can even transform it into drinking water, there are millions upon millions who have never seen the sea, who have no rivers and no ready access to any kind of water.

In our part of the world – Latin America and the Caribbean – 394 million people are without access to water. Over 768 million people world-wide still use unsafe drinking water. (That means one in every nine people in the entire world, but that thought hardly resonates when we’re wash-ing wares with the tap on.) Over 800 thousand people die from water-related diseases every year. Every 20 seconds a child dies somewhere on this earth from a water-related illness. And if we don’t change our ways worldwide now, safe water can reduce by 40% in the next 15 years.

Water loss reduction is, understandably, a major necessary factor in planning and pursuit of water efficiency today. Scientific measure-ments show how more water is usually wasted than registered traditionally. New scientific and technical means are also being introduced over quick time to reduce water loss.

Climate Change is rapidly showing the con-nection between environmental developments and water availability. The more frequent and severe droughts being experienced in the Ca-ribbean and across the developing world and the increased number of heat waves in Europe and North America show just how much water is important to save and preserve.

CAWASA and affiliated regional utilities and institutions concerned with water, continue to advocate and pursue water loss reduction across the Caribbean because all the evidence points to the need to be resolute in finding ways and means to get Caribbean consumers to be more conscious of and sensitive to the continu-ing appeals for water preservation, protection and conservation.

We cannot let the well run dry, which is why we simply have to simply save water every way we can, each and every time. Each and ev-ery drop can save a life, which is why the world acknowledges that ‘Water is Life’. We simply have to act like we believe it when we utter these three little words with such big meaning for mankind!

Reducing Water Loss!

UPCOMING CAWASA EVENTS

Date Event Location25-26 June, 2015

4th Caribbean Water Operators Conference

Grenada

3 July 2015

Water Operators Certification Programme Examination

Various

For Additional information contact: [email protected]

e-Source January-April 2015

CAWASA Secretariat NewsNineteen (19) operators sat the As-

sociation of Boards of Certification Examinations in December 2014, and eighteen (18) in February 2015, with an overall pass rate of 58% and 28% respectively recorded. The follow-ing countries participated: Antigua &

36 from six states sat ABC Exams

CAWASA collaborated with the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) in as-sociation with the World Bank, the Regional Fund for Wastewater Management (CReW), and the Caribbean Water & Sewerage Association Inc (CAWASA) in or-ganizing a Water Reform Workshop for CEOs of Water and Wastewater Utilities in the Region. The meeting was held in Barbados from November 27-28, 2014.

The Barbados meeting examined a 2012 Caribbean Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) Report, which found that Caribbean countries had made consis-tent progress in expanding the coverage of drinking water services. However, it was also found that a high level of access to improved water and sanitation services duid not mean consistently good or reliable service because the financ-ing required was limited.

“The region has done well. However, we have some ground to cover to in-crease and maintain access and quality,” said Edward Greene, Division Chief at the CDBs Technical Cooperation Division.

The CDB itself has contributed significantly over the year to water Develop-ment across the region since 2005. It has funded the installation and upgrade of more that 3,400 kilo meters of water lines, affording over 63,000 households (200,000 people) in the region with access to a clean water supply and improved sanitation.

Barbuda; Cayman Islands, Dominica, Montserrat, St Lucia and Trinidad & Tobago. The following were the ex-amination categories:• Water Distribution• Water Treatment• Water Laboratory

• Wastewater Collection• Wastewater Treatment

Congratulations to: Terry Benja-min, Livingstone Samuel, Olson Dowe; Kashif Kelly, Timica Rich-ards and Barir Stevens (Antigua & Barbuda); Omar Harley (Cay-

man Islands), Jefferson Durand (Dominica); Mervin Justin, Cher-noye St Croix, Alvin Lewis and Shawn Jules (St Lucia); Winston Holder, Christopher Tang, Daniel Boyce and Gary Pilgrim (Trini-dad & Tobago).

Water Utilities CEOs Workshop on Water Reform

Saint Lucia is in the middle of another water-related emergency for all parts of the island.

The 2015 emergency – the second in two years – was declared earlier this month, ef-fective May 20 until July 31.

Water Minister Senator Dr. James Fletcher (Minister for Sustainable Development, Energy, Public Service, Information and Broadcasting) said during an Address to the Nation that river flow rates around the island were below expected base-flow rates.

Consequently, he said, government had taken several steps to reduce the impact of the dry period.

The minister declared several measure taken: In the north of the island the Van-nard and Ravine Poisson intakes were re-activated; abstraction of water from the John Compton Dam will be reduced; thirteen major leaks on the raw water line from the dam to the Ciceron Treatment Plant are being repaired; a water source in Deglos will be activated; and temporary public standpipes will be installed in some of the most affected communities around the island.

In addition, the National Emergency Management Organization (NEMO) will assist with trucking water to communities where urgently required.

However, for these measures to work, government is requesting the full cooperation of the Saint Lucian public.

It advises that drinking water should not be used for washing vehicles and watering lawns or gardens; and that the washing of vehicles in rivers, should stop immediately in order to avoid contamination of water sources.

Government also served notice that tampering with WASCO’s infrastructure by open-ing WASCO’s valves is illegal and should not take place. (More on Pages 8, 9 and 10)

Saint Lucia gripped by another water emergency!

In accordance with the deci-sion of the Cari-WOP Steering Committee, October 7, 2014, a diagnostic mission to Haiti took place February 2 to 4, 2015.

The delegation comprised, Mr. Ignatius Jean, Executive Secre-tary of CariWOP/Executive Di-rector of Caribbean Water and Sewerage Association (CAWA-SA); Mr. Cyprian Gibson, repre-sentative of Bahamas Water and Sewerage Corporation/Carib-bean Water and Wastewater As-sociation (CWWA)/Cari-WOP; Mr. Aly Anthony, representa-tive of the Water and Sewerage Corporation (WASCO), Saint Lucia; Dr. Jose Luis Martin Bordes, representative of the Global Water Operators’ Part-nerships Alliance (GWOPA)/UN-Habitat, Spain;Ms. Sandrine Capelle-Manuel, representative of UN-Habitat Haiti; Dr. Adria-nus Vlugman, PAHO/WHO-Barbados; Mr. Julio Urruela-Roquero, PAHO/WHO- Haiti.

The purpose of the visit was first, to signal to DINEPA the intention of the Cari-WOP to honour its commitment, given at the Steering Committee Meet-ing in the Bahamas. Secondly, to get a first-hand perspective of the water and sanitation sector in some key provinces in order to provide a sound basis for fur-ther development of the WOP programme in Haiti.

During this mission, a pro-posal for the strengthening of four CTEs (Centre Technique d’Exploitation - Technical Op-erations Centres) - Jeremiah,

Gonaives, Hinche and Cap Haitien, was studied, along with working sessions that developed a plan of action and the terms of reference for this collaboration. Apart from the meetings with the donor agencies, working sessions with the CTE, proposals of the agencies by Carrefour and CTE of Petit Goave were also considered.

The Mission met with key officials and agencies including Mr. Benito Dumay, Director General of DINEPA; Ms. Car-men Rodriquez Arce, the Representative of Agencia Espa-nola de Cooperacion Internacional para Desarollo –AECID (i.e. Spanish Agency for International Cooperation for De-velopment); Ms. Corinne Cathala, the IDB’s Infrastructure Specialist, Water and Sanitation Division, (who was in Haiti during the period of the Mission); and Eng. Mr Revel Mom-premier – Special Advisor to the Minister for Public Works, Transport and Communications, Government of Haiti.

The delegation toured the laboratory and inven-tory facilities at the CTE RMPP (Centre Technique

d’Exploitation de La Region Metropolitaine de Port-au-Prince). The team also visited a major catchment of the Centrale Autonome Metropolitaine D’eau Potable (CAMEP) i.e. the Diquini Tunnel. This underground stream is located in the mountains west of the central metropolitan area of Port-au-Prince. The facility was commissioned in March, 1940 by President of Haiti, Mr. Stenio Vincent.

The Draft Work Plan includes the following priorities for technical cooperation:• Monitoring of pumping stations and electromechanical

equipment;• Commercial Management/Call Center Management;• Increase water production;• Geographic Information System (GIS);• Water Quality (Turbidity);• Detection and Leak Repair (Rehabilitation);• Development of a Water Safety Plan (WSP).

Cari-WOP completed first Diagnostic Mission in Haiti

CAWASA Executive Director Ignatius Jean (centre), Program Officer Suzanne Joseph (right) and other members of the CAWASA delegation with the CEO of Haiti’s DINEPA.


CAWASA Secretariat News

Gathering for the 7th time, GWOPA's International Steering Commit-tee brought together over 30 members from the Global WOPs Alliance in Barcelona, including numerous regional platforms. The meeting was foremost an occasion to evaluate the work conducted over 2014 by the Secretariat and Alliance members in understanding, promoting, facili-tating and implementing WOPs, and decide on the next steps to further implement the 5 year-strategy.

A general call to scale-up WOPs at the global level was agreed by all participants. To work towards this objective, it was agreed that greater advocacy was required in order to mainstream the WOPs approach in water and sanitation development projects. Participants agreed that the 3rd WOPs Congress in September will be a key event to bring new play-ers and stakeholders to the table.

Ensuring the sustainability of regional WOPs activity was a concern for a number of Committee members and it was decided that a study of the current situation would be conducted. Other topics discussed by the com-mittee include: the launch of the new GWOPA website, the World Water Forum, World Water Day 2016, among others ... (Extracted from GWOPA newsletter)

7th Steering Committee Meeting in Barcelona seeks to mainstream WOPs approach

WOPS in HAITIRepresentatives from the Cari-WOP secretariat, operators form the Ba-

hamas and Saint Lucia, the WHO and GWOPA took part in a diagnostic mission to Haiti February 2-4.

The purpose of the visit was to follow up on the commitment made dur-ing the Cari-Wop Steering Committee Meeting to investigate the feasibil-ity of a WOP with the Haitian operator DINEPA. The mission was also an opportunity to get a first-hand perspective of the water and sanitation sector in some key provinces to serve as a basis for the development of the WOP programme in Haiti.

During this mission, proposal for the strengthening of four Technical Operations Centres were made and initial work on developing a plan of action and the terms of reference for this collaboration were launched. Meetings with donor agencies and working sessions were also conduct-ed. A draft work plan and next steps for this WOP are being developed by all parties.

CAWASA Executive Director Ignatius Jean (third from right) joined delegates in Barcelona.

CariWOP Mission to DINEPA, HAITA – February 2-6, 2015

Delegates from around the world headed to Barcelona for the 7th meeting.

CAWASA Executive Director Ignatius Jean and other counterparts attended several topical meetings to seek solutions to global water

operators’ problems.

e-SourcePage 4 January-April 2015

CAWASA Secretariat News

Gathering for the 7th time, GWOPA's International Steering Commit-tee brought together over 30 members from the Global WOPs Alliance in Barcelona, including numerous regional platforms. The meeting was foremost an occasion to evaluate the work conducted over 2014 by the Secretariat and Alliance members in understanding, promoting, facili-tating and implementing WOPs, and decide on the next steps to further implement the 5 year-strategy.

A general call to scale-up WOPs at the global level was agreed by all participants. To work towards this objective, it was agreed that greater advocacy was required in order to mainstream the WOPs approach in water and sanitation development projects. Participants agreed that the 3rd WOPs Congress in September will be a key event to bring new play-ers and stakeholders to the table.

Ensuring the sustainability of regional WOPs activity was a concern for a number of Committee members and it was decided that a study of the current situation would be conducted. Other topics discussed by the committee include: the launch of the new GWOPA website, the World Water Forum, World Water Day 2016, among others ... (Extracted from GWOPA newsletter)

7th Steering Committee Meeting in Barcelona seeks to mainstream WOPs approach

WOPS in HAITIRepresentatives from the Cari-WOP secretariat, operators form the Ba-

hamas and Saint Lucia, the WHO and GWOPA took part in a diagnostic mission to Haiti February 2-4.

The purpose of the visit was to follow up on the commitment made dur-ing the Cari-Wop Steering Committee Meeting to investigate the feasibil-ity of a WOP with the Haitian operator DINEPA. The mission was also an opportunity to get a first-hand perspective of the water and sanitation sector in some key provinces to serve as a basis for the development of the WOP programme in Haiti.

During this mission, proposal for the strengthening of four Technical Operations Centres were made and initial work on developing a plan of action and the terms of reference for this collaboration were launched. Meetings with donor agencies and working sessions were also conduct-ed. A draft work plan and next steps for this WOP are being developed by all parties.

Executive Director, Ignatius Jean attended the meeting.

CariWOP Mission to DINEPA, HAITA – February 2-6, 2015

CAWASA Executive Director Ignatius Jean (centre) addressed the Barcelona meeting on Caribbean concerns and the regional impacts of global trends.


At long last, the prolonged water-rationing in Anguilla is expected to soon be something of the past.

This follows the signing of a contract between the Water Corporation of Anguilla and Caribbean Water Treatment Limited, after a protracted process of tendering and processing.

The contract was signed on January 30, following the dissemination of the tender on May 19, 2014.

The Antigua-based company selected to provide the service has over twenty-two years experience and expertise in operating Seawater Reverse Osmosis Plants in the Caribbean mainly, but as well as in other parts of the world.

“This is a long anticipated day for us,” Mrs Evelyne Apire-Hodge, Chief Executive Officer of the Water Corporation, who signed the contract, told reporters.

“We are looking forward to having an extra plant for water from the sea, at Crocus Bay, to increase our water production and to be better able to serve the people of Anguilla.”

According to her, the plant is expected to produce 500,000 gallons of water a day, with the possibility of increasing that amount to one million gallons, depending on the demand.

That water supply will be complemented by the brackish water system linked with a number of wells in The Valley.

Mr Evan Gumbs, Minister of Infrastructure, said he was very happy to among those signing the contract to provide additional water for Anguilla.

He said, “It is long overdue. I have been getting a number of calls from persons needing water on the island, and I am happy to see that this contract is taking place today.”

The contract with Caribbean Water Treatment Limited is for ten years, following which the equipment and operation of the plant will be handed over to the Water Corporation.

The new plant will entail the use of the existing building at Crocus Bay, owned by the Water Corporation.

Water rationing soon to be a thing of the

past in Anguilla!

The company will be installing its own equipment there over the coming weeks and will also utilize the existing pipelines in the sea.

The plant was closed by its previous operator, General Electric, in September 2012, leaving Anguilla with a considerable shortage of portable water.

A press release issued by the Water Corporation and read by the Chairman, Mrs Marlene Brooks (a signatory to the contract) stated that following a rigorous evaluation, Caribbean Water Treatment Limited was awarded the tender in August 2014.

The company accepted the offer in September 2014 under a Build Own Transfer arrangement. It was among seven other companies which tendered for the contract. The others were: GTN Energy, St Martin; TSG Water Works, Anguilla; Krener, Spain; Ocean Conversion, British Virgin Islands; L.T.D., Tortola; Air Water Innova, USA; and Seven Seas Water Corporation, USA.

Caribbean Water Treatment Limited was represented at the signing ceremony by its Managing Director, Mr Mario Bento.

“Let me first express my happiness that we have finally reached this long-awaited singing of the contract,” he said.

“This is probably the tenth or twelfth version of the contract. We are very excited to be putting in a new plant for the Government and people of Anguilla.”

Noting that Antigua often suffered from drought conditions, he said his company clearly understood the need to meet the water demands of the Anguillan public.

“We look forward to working with the Water Corporation in the coming years, to continue to meet the demand which I expect will grow, as we provide a better service to customers,” he added.

Meanwhile, the press release pointed out that the Water Corporation of Anguilla, now under new management, was rebranding itself.

Its aim is “to be a more customer-oriented organization, to better understand and meet the needs of the customer.”

The Corporation has “apologized” and expressed “great appreciation to its loyal customers who have endured with the water-rationing situation for the past two years.

Mr Mario Bento signing contract with Chairman Mrs Marlene Brooks, while other board members and officials witnessed the historic development.


Some Facts And Things You May

Not KnowMany people take water for granted, but wa-

ter is essential for life. World Water Day was ob-served yesterday to simply celebrate water. The United Nations started the campaign 22 years ago to show how water makes a difference to ar-eas of the world where there are water-related problems.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon issued a statement for WWD 2015: "To address the many challenges related to water, we must work in a spirit of urgent cooperation, open to new ideas and innovation, and prepared to share the solu-tions that we all need for a sustainable future."

Water scarcity is probably among the top of our list of 21st century worries, but few people worry about it unless they lack a safe source of ample water.

World Water Day aims to raise awareness, espe-cially among those who do not try to do enough to decrease their everyday usage. The average American, taking a 5-minute shower, uses more water than an average person in the slums of a developing country in a whole day.

The U.S. uses more water in a day than oil in a year. And Every 20 seconds a child dies from a water-related illness.

The water we have here on Earth came mostly from outer space as our planet was forming. It is the legacy of countless collisions with com-ets and asteroids, something that, fortunately, slowed down dramatically about 4 billion years ago. This means that what we have here is what we get, at least until we start mining celestial ob-jects for water and minerals, a project far in the future.

Since desalination is extremely costly, using ocean water is not a short-term solution.

The short-term solution is more awareness and a mindset open to change at the individual, as well as the industrial and agricultural level.

Did you know that:1. 394 million people in Latin America and the

Caribbean are without water access2. 358 million people in Africa are without wa-

ter access3. 195 million people in Southeast, East Asia

and Oceania are without water access4. 9 million people are without water access in

developed countries5. More than 840,000 people die from a water-

related disease each year. That could be from diarrhea caused by dirty drinking water, hygiene and sanitation. It translates to 2,300 deaths per day.

6. It takes more than 2,400 gallons of water to produce 1 pound of meat, while a pound of wheat uses 25 gallons.

7. About 750 million people do not have access to clean water, which is approximately 1 in every 9 people

8. There are more people with a mobile phone than access to a toilet.

9. Women and children spend 140 million hours collecting fresh water every day.

10. The amount of safe water could drop by 40 percent in 15 years if people do not change the way they use water.

World Water Day 2015


World Water Day is marked on 22 March every year. It’s a day to celebrate water. It’s a day to make a difference for the members of the global population who suffer from water related issues. It’s a day to prepare for how we manage water in the future.

In 1993, the United Nations General Assembly designated 22 March as the first World Water Day. Now, 22 years later, World Water Day is celebrated around the world shining the spotlight on a different issue

every year.In 2015, the theme for World Water Day was 'Water and Sustainable Develop-

ment'. It was about how water links to all areas we need to consider, for us to be able to create the future we want.

Each year, UN Water provides resources to inspire celebrations for World Wa-ter Day.

World Water Day 2015 was ‘A day to celebrate, to change and to prepare

“The World Meteorological Or-ganization, as the successor of the International Meteorological Or-ganization, created in 1873, has its fundamental mission to support the countries of the world in pro-viding meteorological and hydro-logical services to protect life and property from natural disasters related to weather, climate and water, as well as to safeguard the environment and to contribute to sustainable development.

“This cannot happen without the necessary observations, research and operations that develop the under-standing and knowledge of weather and climate.

“Since 1961, World Meteorological Day has commemorated the coming into force on 23 March 1950 of the Convention establishing the World Meteorological Organization and the essential contribution that Na-tional Meteorological and Hydro-logical Services make to the safety and wellbeing of society. “Each year, the celebrations focus on a theme of topical interest.

‘Climate Knowledge for

Climate Action!’Following is the full text of the Message from M. Jarraud, Secretary General of the World Meteorological Organization

(WMO), on the occasion of “World Meteorological Day 2015 on the theme: “Climate Knowledge for Climate Action”

“The theme of this year, “Cli-mate knowledge for climate ac-tion”, could not be timelier, as the international community moves towards ambitious deci-sions and action to address cli-mate change.”

Michel Jarraud

Saint Lucia joined the rest of the World in commemorating World Wetland day on February 2nd.

The theme for world wetlands day 2015 was Wetlands for Our Future. This theme was designed to emphasize the importance of wetlands for:• Purifying and replenishing the worlds’ precious fresh water resources, • Providing fish nursery sites• Providing protection for our vulnerable coastlines, • Performing as a natural sponge against floods and droughts, • The storage of Carbon,• Sustaining a biodiversity rich ecosystem

According to the RAMSAR convention on wetlands, to which St. Lucia is sig-natory, 64% of the worlds’ wetlands have disappeared and the remaining 36% are in jeopardy of succumbing to the same fate.

With the world now focused on Climate Change, our wetlands should be fore-most in our minds as a means of mitigating its impact.

Wetlands, especially mangroves, bind the shoreline together, which prevents erosion, and slows storm surges thereby increasing our resilience to Climate Change.

In Saint Lucia, our wetlands and mangroves are also under threat with inter alia the increase in the demand for coastal lands for development.

The value of our wetlands as a natural protector of coastal erosion and a nurs-ery site for fish which sustains our fishing industry falls a distant second to the perceived value of allowing development which decimates these very fragile ecosystems.

Deforestation and the indiscriminate disposal of garbage within the wetlands also threaten the health of the wetlands.

Moreover, garbage is a problem in approximately 90% of our wetlands, this problem is further compounded because this garbage comprises mainly plastic.

Another worrying issue is the Increasing deforestation in biodiversity rich wet-lands such as Grand Anse and Mankote which contain more than 100 species of flora and 30 species of fauna that are mainly birds.

These ecosystems need our intervention if they are going to survive. Small per-sonal decisions would go a long way in getting our wetlands back to a condition that would allow all of us to reap the benefits of its natural protective functions.

Some of the measures that we can personally commit to are educating our-selves and others on the benefits that wetlands provide and avoid harmful prac-tices such as garbage disposal in the wetlands.

Remember: collective action provides collective rewards.(For further information contact Mrs. Rebecca Rock at 468-5656)

Ministry of Sustainable Development and

Forestry observed World Wetlands Day 2015

The National Water and Sewerage Authority (NAWASA) launched its World Water Day Activities a fortnight ahead, at The Authority’s Main Office on the Carenage.

The intimate gathering was nothing short of spectacular as attendees were provided with information on activities organized by the Authority in observance of World Water Day which was celebrated globally on Sun-day March 22nd, 2015.

The Welcome Remarks were done by General Manager Mr. Christopher Husbands who implored on participants to understand the importance of water sustainability.

Continued on Page 10

Grenada’s NAWASA sponsoring six months of 2015

World Water Day activities

NAWASA General Manager Mr. Christopher Husbands


Neville Warner, born 24th November 1966, started working on 8th August 1986 – at age 20. He died on 4th April 2015 in the position of Water Distribution Foreman. The following tribute to him was delivered at his funeral on April 24th was delivered by Mr Emile Duberry, former Water Manager of the Mont-serrat Utilities Limited and former Director of CAWASA. He is now a member of the Board of Directors of the Montserrat Utilities Ltd.

I worked with Warner for a significant portion of his time with the Montser-rat Water Authority and now Montserrat Utilities Limited. I left the utility in July 2014 but returned in October 2014 as a member of the Board of Directors. On behalf of the Board of the Montserrat Utilities Limited, the former staff of the Montserrat Water Authority and the current staff of Montserrat Utilities Limited, I wish to extend to the family of Neville “Bill” Warner our heartfelt condolences on the passing of your beloved husband, father, son, family mem-ber and friend.

In giving tribute to Mr. Warner, many of his colleagues describe him as a good leader, a motivator, a true friend. Those who were not close to him often thought there was an air of detachment about him but those in his inner circle knew that under the stern demeanour lay the most sardonic sense of humour that was often unexpected and never failed to bring cheer to those exposed to his particular sense of humour.

Neville (Bill) Warner began his employment with Montserrat Water Author-ity on August 8th 1986 at the tender age of 20, having just graduated from the Montserrat Technical College. He was appointed to the position of Assistant Pump Operator/Welder.

Over the years, he has held a number of positions including Assistant Plumb-er, Assistant Mechanic, and most recently, Foreman, Water Distribution. Prior to the volcanic crisis, he supported the Distribution Foreman for the Northern part of the island. A position that he would, in short order, make his substan-tive role.

Bill was pro-active and very receptive to continued learning. He participat-ed in many training courses, many that he proposed and others that were re-quired for his progression and promotion to include Welding, Customer Rela-tions and Water and Sewage Plant Operation and Maintenance.

He was also successful at completing up to Level 3, Water Distribution Oper-ator Certification Programme; a standardized Water Certification programme overseen by the American Water Association and managed by the Caribbean Basin Water Management Programme in St. Lucia. With this certification he would have been able to take up a senior position with any water utility in the Caribbean or USA.

Montserrat Water Authority merged with Montserrat Electricity Services Limited to become Montserrat Utilities Limited in 2008 and Bill continued as Water Distribution Foreman in the new organisation.

The Water Distribution team de-scribes him as a supervisor who on a daily basis urged them on in their work and was always willing and ready to offer encouragement and motivation when they were not feel-ing prepared to work.

His motivation style was different for each member of his team and they would cheerfully say that his unique sense of humour always got him the desired result – the team working willingly to achieve its goals.

While Bill was part of the technical team, the administrative staff were also the recipients of his talent for practical jokes and bland humour. Over the last few weeks stories of his interactions with staff have proved to be the support and impetus for help-ing us get back on our feet.

Regrettably, we may not have told Bill all that we are saying today. We often times focus so fixedly on the things that require improvement that we overlook the wholesome qualities that are commendable. Such quali-ties made him a motivator, an in-spiration and a wonderful friend to many of his colleagues.

His sudden passing should be a les-son to us (individually and collective-ly) to preserve the good memories and highlight the merits of those around us, family, friends and acquaintances, and lovingly embrace and support them through the difficult times that are part of each of our lives.

Bill, to say we will miss you would be an understatement. We wish that you could hear us when we say, your boots will be difficult to fill. You

Neville Warner: Born 24th November 1966 and departed 4th April 2015

were a unique individual and mov-ing forward without you is a task we do not look forward to but we take comfort in the words of Romans 14:7-9 “For none of us lives to him-self, and none of us dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.”

To Bill’s wife, sons, father, sisters, brothers and all other members of his extended family, and his friends, please know that we today celebrate the life of your loved one and in the words of the Hebrew Proverb “Say not in grief he is no more, but live in thankfulness that he was”.

Montserrat Water Workers and Utility Managers remember ‘Bill Warner’

Grenadians and the Eastern Caribbean will on Monday 18th May 2015 bid a final farewell to a giant of the water and sewerage sector, Raymond Arnold Noel, a Grenadian by birth, passed away quietly at his home in Grenada late last week at the age of 88. Mr. Noel served the Government and people of St. Vincent and the Grenadines and in particular, the CWSA with distinction during a watershed period in the history of the Institution. A USA trained water resource and sanitary engineer and a member of the Institute of Public Health Engi-neers, Mr. Noel came to St. Vincent through the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) in December 1983 at the request of the Board of Directors, to serve as Manager/Water Engineer consultant at a critical time when the Water Authority (CWSA) was introducing the first phase of its important metering project. For the ensuing period 1983 to 1986, Raymond Noel working alongside Robert France, straddled two Boards of Directors and teamed up with Hobbs Huggins and then with Monty Maule in contribut-ing immensely to the significant turnaround in the fortunes of the CWSA. Apart from his primary responsibility of imple-menting the first time metering project for SVG. Mr. Noel was also asked to restructure the engineering division within the CWSA. Because of the respect he commanded, his people skills and his no-nonsense style of management; he was able to achieve a re-structured and forward looking engineering division by May of 1984. It is important to note that the core of that structure still exists today within the CWSA. Some other notable achievements at the CWSA during his tenure were the successful Union nego-tiations, in the midst of industrial action by employ-ees in early 1984, the production of computerized bills in March 1984, followed by the appointment of the first Public Relations Officer, Lemuel Ottley in July 1984. He also prepared the way for a young Daniel Cummings to succeed him as manager, in-cluding securing graduate level training for him in the USA, just as he himself had done almost twenty five years earlier.

A TRIBUTE TO RAYMOND NOEL

Mr. Noel also worked as Water Engineer/Manag-er at the Grenada Water Authority and at the CARI-COM Secretariat in Guyana. In recognition for his service to the water and sanitation sectors, he was the recipient of the Caribbean Water and Wastewa-ter Association Gold Award in 1997, an organiza-tion which he co-founded in the early I 990’s. He was also awarded the MBE in Grenada in January 2012 for his outstanding public service. The Board, management and Staff of the CWSA, on behalf of the Government and people of St. Vin-cent and the Grenadines, extend sincere condolenc-es to the relatives of this outstanding Caribbean son. May he rest in eternal peace.

Garth SandersManager CWSA

Raymond NoelGeneral Manager CWSA 1983-1986

Minister commends Saint

Lucians for positive response

to 2nd National Water Emergency!

Continued on Page 13

As the island continues to suffer the conse-quences of one of its worst droughts in recent years, Saint Lucia’s Water Minister is com-mending citizens for responding positively to calls for conservation, while calling for more prudent management of the island’s very scarce water resources.

Public service, Sustainable Development and Energy Minister Senator Dr James ‘Jimmy’ Fletch-er, who has responsibility for water, says Global Warming has resulted in worsening droughts the world over -- and for Saint Lucia, the dry weath-er, coupled with depleting reservoirs, necessitates strong water conservation measures.

Not since 2010 has the island faced such per-sistently serious drought conditions, which last year resulted in the designation of a National Water-0related Emergency by the Government.

“Brown is the new green,” noted Alison Kent-ish, a reporter with HTS, one of the island’s oldest private TV stations, pointing to the ex-cessive dryness that covers most landed areas.

Much of the dryness is also the result of a record number of bush and backyard fires re-ported by the St. Lucia Fire Service so far this year – like never before.

The excessive island-wide dryness is further exacerbated by the pressures on the water sys-tem related to the over-siltation at the Sir John


1

The Government of Mexico has awarded a grant of US $5 million towards the imple-mentation and commissioning of the Dennery Water Supply Redevelopment Project in Saint Lucia.

The project will provide residents of the east coast village with a reliable water supply.The project encompasses water intake construction and raw water transmission, wa-

ter treatment plant construction and commissioning, installation of storage tanks for treated water, installation of pumping facilities and network distribution upgrades.

The United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) has been a key partner of the Mexican Government to oversee the operation of the project.

The project will benefit residents of La Caye, Grande Riviere, Mabouya Valley and Morne Panache.

The planned commencement of the project is for the third quarter for 2015, while con-struction will begin towards the end of the year. It is estimated to last for 18 months.

Mexico funding community water in St. Lucia

Managing Director for Saint Lucia’s Water and Sewerage Company (WASCO), Vincent Hippolyte, has said that planned upgrades to the Vieux Fort water facil-ity in the island’s south will satisfy demand for water until 2033.

The Vieux Fort Water Supply Redevelopment Project will outfit the facility with three new pumping stations, three new storage tanks and three new transmission lines.

"If all goes according to schedule, by the third quarter of this year [there should be] a contractor on site to begin work," Hippolyte says.

"The components of the project involve two intakes and a water treatment plant with the capacity to produce 8.4 million gallons of water a day, which will satisfy demand up to the year 2033."

The project will also address issues with non-revenue water, water efficiency and audit, and watershed management.

Vieux-Fort upgrade to supply water demand until 2033

Saint Lucia’s Ministry of Sustainable Development, Energy, Science and Tech-nology, and the Water and Sewerage Company Inc. (WASCO) have signed a cooperation agreement with the Syndicat Intercommunal du Centre et du Sud de la Martinique (SCISM), which resulted in the receipt of a European Union (EU) grant of 347,587 Euros.

The agreement, which falls under the 10th European Development Fund ACP-EU Water Facility, will assist WASCO with capacity development in its water and wastewater sectors through an intra-regional Water Operators Partnership (WOP) Program with SCISM.

Saint Lucia’s delegation to the signing was led by Senator Dr. James Fletcher, who stressed the importance of enabling a sustainable water and wastewater sector in Saint Lucia for national economic growth and development.

The assistance is intended to achieve four goals. It will acquire the methodol-ogy and tools to develop a master plan for water and waste-water, as well as improve asset management.

In addition, it will prepare guidelines and orientations for a risk management plan, including disaster preparedness, crisis management and resilience.

The assistance will also develop Terms of Reference (ToRs) for procuring ser-vices to address deficiencies identified during the preparation of the methodol-ogy for the master plans.

Signatories flash their copies of the agreement after signing in Saint Lucia

Saint Lucia’s Water Sector to benefit from EU grant

Consumers of water in Dominica have been called upon to conserve water dur-ing the current dry season also known as ‘kawem’ in local parlance.

Several Caribbean countries including Antigua, St Lucia and Jamaica are cur-rently experiencing drought.

General Manager of the Dominica Water and Sewerage Company Limited (DOWASCO) Bernard Ettinoffe says Dominica is now experiencing a decrease in volumes of water at some intakes across the country.

“In some areas, the availability of water is less than it would normally be, per-sons in these areas are affected by intermittent disruption because of the levels in some of the intakes”.

Mr Ettinoffe informed, however, that DOWASCO continues to supply water in all the communities despite the decrease in water volumes.

“What we are in fact doing at this moment is advising persons to assist us in conserving the supply of water available at this time,” Ettinoffe said. He also advised persons to avoid watering their lawns in an effort to conserve water.

According to the DOWASCO Chief, “We understand that people love to have their grass looking green and so it is beautiful, but when the rains come it will look very green and beautiful”.

He continued, “Rather than have a hose running by the car not even being used, we are suggesting to people to use a bucket to wash the car and clean the car with less than half of the water you would normally use when water is in abundance,” he said.

He advised people to do more sweeping instead of hosing down the concrete when cleaning their yards.

Mr. Ettinoffe said although Dominica is not in a crisis situation -- unlike neigh-boring countries like St. Lucia and Antigua -- the need to conserve water is critical.

He said Dominica is in a position to assist affected countries experiencing drought with the exportation of water.

Meanwhile, Ettinoffe announced that the dry spell will not force an increase in the water rates.

Now that Dominica is only 2% away from achieving full access to potable wa-ter, the task now is to manage this invaluable resource.

General Manager of Dominica Water And Sewerage Company, (DOWASCO), Bernard Etinoffe, says Government has already set policies in place that focus on conserving the resource to ensure sustainability.

He explains, “We have a draft policy document, a Water Resource Manage-ment Policy document that has been submitted to Government. We have to re-visit that document.

“We have to look at what changes are necessary at this point in time to that document. This will give us the direction in which we need to go to preserve our water resource to ensure that we use it wisely now and have it for future generations.”

Dominica’s Roosevelt Skerrit Administration believes the environmental ben-efits to the island by the forest reserves are many. Government’s policy is to ensure the preservation of the nation’s forest reserves, while benefitting from its productive capacity.

Since 2000, an Environmental Policy was established and the Dominica Labour Party Government has put in place a Ministry of Environment which is charged with the responsibility of preserving and protecting the nature island.

Etinoffe noted, however, that there must be an integrated approach for success.“It is something that is not only DOWASCO related but the entire country has

to get on-board including Government, the Environmental Health Department, the Ministry of Health, forestry, agriculture, the schools and the farmers. It basi-cally calls for an integrated approach where everybody will look at what is hap-pening to the resource.”

He says an analysis has to be done to find out why the nation’s resources are significantly less than they were a few years ago. He says, “We have to do that self-analysis and then determine what we need to do to preserve the resource.”

Etinoffe adds that all must be “vigilant in monitoring the country’s forests all the time ensuring that there is no felling of trees in water catchment areas and ensuring that there is no pollution by farming activities or otherwise in the wa-ter courses of the country.”

To drive his message home, the Dowasco Manager gave examples of deforesta-tion in countries such as Haiti and the scarcity of water of nearby St. Lucia.

He says Dominica is fortunate that early action was taken by the Government to preserve the forest reserves on the island.

“We have a large forest reserve but we have to ensure that nothing adversely happens in hat reserve that will negatively affect the water resource. And so it is part of our mandate going forward and we are working towards that,” he concluded.

‘Kawem” hits DominicaDOWASCO urges citizens to conserve water

DOWASCO Talks Sustainability of Dominica’s Water Resource


The Water and Sewage Company (WASCO) has enlisted the help of the German International Develop-ment Agency (GIZ), to provide prac-tical support to Saint Lucia to reduce water loss and improve efficiency.

WASCO Strategic Planning Offi-cer, John Sealy, says the company is plagued by substantial losses in non-revenue water, which ac-counts for 56%.

“According to reports, we are un-able to account for 56% of the water entering our system,” he said. “It means you don’t get billed for all of the water which enters your sys-tem and we in turn do not get rev-enue from it. Anything that is not billed is literally going to waste. It is termed non revenue water.”

This is not a situation particular to Saint Lucia. Water utility com-panies worldwide strive to reduce the gap between the volume of wa-ter they supply and that which is billed to consumers.

Non-Revenue Water (NRW) con-stitutes between 25 and 50 percent of the total water distributed globally.

GIZ Program Head Dr. Hortz Mi-chael Vogel said the agency will assist WASCO in meeting its chal-lenges, having assisted with other national initiatives.

“Our cooperation with WASCO began in the area of continuous sediment management at the John Compton Dam in Roseau.

The collaboration continued with other institutions like the Ministry of Finance on the reha-bilitation of the Saint Jude Hos-pital in Vieux-Fort, as well as the redevelopment of the water sup-ply in Vieux-Fort and Dennery,” Dr Vogel said.

He added that the steps they have taken to improve the operations and service delivery of the Water and Sewage Company (WASCO) are progressing steadily.

The alliance between WASCO and GIZ endeavours to significantly lower water losses resulting in the economic viability and sustainabil-ity of WASCO. Further information on water losses can be obtained at www.waterlossreduction.com.

WASCO aims for sustainability through German partnership

Busted pipes are a serious cause for concern to WASCO and other Caribbean water utilities as it’s a major source of water loss, especially

due to human intervention.

The Water and Sewage Company (WASCO) is now one step closer to the start in its plan to de-silt and rehabili-tate the John Compton Dam.

Aly Anthony, Senior Manager of Utilities Services, Planning and Design at WASCO, said proposals to address siltation at the John Compton Dam have been submitted to the Caribbean Development Bank for review and ap-proval.

Following approval, a survey and analysis that will dictate the progres-sion of the de-silting process will begin.

“The study will look at the problem we are experiencing at the dam at a ho-listic level,” Anthony said.

He added, “This includes the catch-ment, the dam structure, the problem with de-silting, and even the socio-economic impact of the project on the Millet and Vannard communities.

“In essence, the study will inform the next stage of operations.”

The study will also determine the depth, and analyze the chemical com-position of the silt for disposal pur-poses.

The silt may contain heavy metal con-taminants or hydrocarbons from road runoff, Anthony explained, which are hazardous and therefore cannot be spread to land without remedy.

De-silting of the dam is slated to be-gin next year.

Meanwhile, WASCO has already en-

gaged key stakeholders in a consulta-tion on the de-silting and Rehabilita-tion study, which allowed stakeholders to provide input into the preparation of the de-silting project.

Chairman of WASCO, Egbert Louis, said the study takes into account sev-eral variables.

He also said Phase One involves the preparation of a de-silting project.

The first phase also assesses the im-pacts of the proposed solutions on the environment and surrounding com-munities, while the road network and the dam structure will be comprehen-sively analyzed during this study.

One of the main outputs of Phase One will be a document which will prescribe a plan for addressing the de-silting of the dam.”

The study will be undertaken by the Canadian firm Golder Associates in co-operation with local firms.

Golder Associates representative, Dr. Michael Bender, highlighted the objec-tive of the study, saying: “We intend to work closely with WASCO to develop a comprehensive plan.”

He also said “The plan will achieve three things. It aims to restore the reli-ability of the water supply; to do that in an economically viable way; and to do it in an environmental and sociable way.”

The first phase of the project com-menced at the end of September 2014.

De-silting of Roseau Dam starting soon!

Accumulated debris and lack of adequate maintenance over several years resulted in serious siltation of the Roseau Dam, the island’s

largest, forcing the government to embark on emergency measures to secure the island’s water supply.

Continued from Page 7

According to Mr Husbands, “This year’s theme Water and Sustainable Development re-emphasises the fact that water is a scarce resource and needs to be managed effectively.

“NAWASA has been encouraging persons to practice water storage which is only one aspect of sustainability, but an important one at that. We have always recognized that stu-dents are agents of change in their own way, get them on board and you have information sharing for life.

“We are happy that our activities target schools specifically and will add value to Gre-nada’s education system in 2015 and beyond.”

Most activities planned by the Authority re-volved around the nation’s schools, with spe-cific focus on Water Storage and Rain Water Harvesting. (The Ministry of Education & Hu-man Resource Development endorsed the pro-grammes.)

Mrs. Merryl Lord, Education Officer with re-sponsibility for District 4 represented the Min-istry at today’s launch. Her presentation was timely, as she spoke about “Ensuring that water

is sustainable is a difficult task, but one in which our children play a major role.

“Teaching them the importance of water now and encouraging them to practice what they are taught will no doubt pave the water availability in the future.

“We at the Ministry of Education is happy to support this thrust by NAWASA and applauds the team for their efforts at involving the nation’s students in their activities.”

The Authority’s 2015 activities received major financial support from GIZ, a German based or-ganization that focuses on climate change adap-tation.

The Head of the German – Grenadian Pilot Pro-gramme Mr. Dieter Rothenberger said “As an organisation that prioritises climate change ad-aptation and water as a renewable resource, we are absolutely delighted to provide support to NAWASA.”

NAWASA’s Communications Officer Jamila Lewis, made a full presentation on the activi-ties organized by the Authority giving high ac-colade to a project that she described as “very dear to their heart” - a community based ini-tiative called Tap Close – School Open.

“No more will a school in Grenada, Carria-cou & Petite Martinique has to close their door because of the lack of water.

“NAWASA and its partners will ensure that all schools in the tri – island state have functional storage facilities by September of this year. Education is a right…and so too is clean potable water, at all times in our schools.”

NAWASA Water Warz, Pre-Primary and Pri-mary School Jingle Competition are other ac-tivities that target the nation’s schools. The reg-istration period for all activities is now officially opened and schools can access the Authority’s website and Social Media platform for more in-formation and registration forms.

For domestic & commercial customers, the popular Free Reconnection Programmes which involves waiving the reconnection fee will take place for one day only – Thursday April 2nd, 2015 subject to a number of terms and conditions.

Activities for World Water Day in Grenada will span a period of six months culminating in the month of September when the United Na-tions celebrates International Water Week.

Grenada’s NAWASA sponsoring six months of 2015 World Water Day activities


The Caribbean Desalination Association (Carib-DA) will hold a workshop on “Back to Basics and Innovations on Potable Water, Wastewater Reuse and Desalination” in Cancun, Mexico on June 2-3, 2015 at the Grand Fiesta Americana Coral Beach Cancun Resort & Spa.

Several topics will be covered during four sessions over the two days of meeting.

Session 1 will examine “Water - A Sustainable Re-source”, with topics including The Water Cycle & Its Importance, Water Sustainability in the State of Quintana Roo Mexico, Chemistry: It’s Importance in Water Treatment, Desalination and Water Con-ditioning upon Process Needs

Session 2 will look at “Water Treatment Technolo-gies” and the topics included: Treatment Process for Wells & Surface Brackish Water, Domestic Waste Water Treatment Process, TWWTP in Gua-najuato (Mexico), Water Reuse Using MBR Mem-branes, Water Reuse in Perlya Mining R.D. and Wa-ter Administration within the Plant.

Session 3 will address “Water Desalination Tech-nologies” and the topics were: Reverse Osmosis & Nanofiltration, SWRO System Design, Upgrading/Re-Designing Desalination Plants and Impact on Brine Discharge on Bentonic Communities (Case Study Desalting Plant in La Chimba, Chile)

Finally, Session 4 will consider “New Trends & Materials” and topics for this final session were: En-ergy Recovery Devices, Infastructure Repairs Using Chemical Grouts, Microfiltration/Ultrafiltration,

CEDI/EDI Ionization Electrode, CEI Analytical In-novation to Troubleshooting Membrane Systems and Forward Osmosis.About CaribDa

The Caribbean Desalination Association (Carib-DA) is a non-profit organization that represents members/sponsors from the Caribbean desalina-tion and water reuse communities, utilities, indus-tries, academia and government, as well as individ-uals interested in water supply improvement in the Caribbean, specifically by means of desalination or water reuse.

CaribDA welcomes interest from NGO’s and stu-dents from all disciplines interested in desalination and water reuse.

In addition, any person, firm, agency, or corpora-tion from all over the world having ties or personal or commercial interest or aspirations in the region, engaged or interested in desalination or water reuse is eligible to become a General Member/Sponsor of the Association, subject to acceptance by the Board.

CaribDA will encourage communication and liai-sons with other water treatment associations in the region (i.e. CWWA, Global Water Partnership).The Caribbean leading by example

Producing fresh water from seawater by means of evaporators has been taking place commercially in Curacao since 1928, making the Caribbean among the first in the world to do so.The Caribbean, joining forces now, for the future

Most Caribbean islands share the same unique

challenges. Specifically with regard to providing pure and healthy potable water for their inhabitants, many islands depend largely on desalination.

Having similar historical and cultural backgrounds, geographical positions and with low resources com-bined with high energy costs, the Association was formed to share experiences, information, opera-tional data, technical standards and other resources; work together to improve the quality and quantity of potable water; and lower the costs of production through application of desalination technology and water reuse in the Caribbean.

CaribDA is a platform for desalination and water reuse owners, designers and operators and others involved or having an interest in desalination and water reuse.An initiative born on Curaçao

In 2008, Curaçao celebrated the 80th anniversary of its commercial desalination operations. The island has been among the technology’s pioneers. Aqualec-tra, which is the company currently responsible for the island’s water and energy supply,took this op-portunity to start the Caribbean Desalination Asso-ciation as a forum for Desalination and water reuse.

Aqualectra officially incorporated the Caribbean Desalination Association on October 22nd, 2007. CaribDA was launched during a ceremony in Cura-cao followed by a conference and General Members meeting, on June 4th, 2008. The first elected Board took seat on June 4th, 2008 and presented the Strate-gic Plan 2008-2013

.

UPCOMING GEF/CReW

EVENTS

CaribDa Mexico workshop to examine Returning to Basics and Embracing New Innovations for Potable Water, Wastewater Reuse and Desalination

Regional and International stakeholders collaborated to host Sanitation and Wastewater Professionals

The Global Environment Facility-fundedCaribbean Regional Fund for Wastewater Management (GEF-CReW) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) collaborated with the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) and the Caribbean Water and Sewerage Association Inc. (CAWASA) to convene a one-week workshop on Governance and Sanitation in Antigua and Barbuda, 23rd– 27th February, 2015.

The Workshop was a follow-up to an eightweek online course in Governance and Ur-ban Sanitation which was run by the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) and successfully completed by thirty-eight professionals from water and sew-erage companies and health ministries, from 17 of the CDB’s borrowing member coun-tries. Their participation was funded by the CDB in keeping with its poverty reduction goal and its Climate Resilience Strategy. The online course focused on enhancing the capacity of sanitation professionals in relation to decision-making and investments in the area of urban sanitation. It provided analytical tools to help participants understand the financial and institutional frameworks of the sanitation sector, taking into account the needs of urban poor communities.

The Workshop aimed to build additional capacity in areas such as gender; climate change; use of wastewater as a resource; and monitoring and evaluation. Presenters in-cluded experienced wastewater sector specialists who have worked in the areas of gen-der mainstreaming, climate change, financing, and technology development.

The issue of sanitation and wastewater management in the Caribbean is a very ne-glected one. The CDB, CAWASA, UNEP and the GEF CReW Project in organizing this workshop, placed up front the need to deal with the institutional and financial chal-lenges, gender and climate change issues that affect the sector.

Sanitation professionals were provided with an overview of the state of the sector in their respective countries as well as with information on the skills and tools used for planning investments and decision-making to help them to identify actions that could contribute to improvements in the sector.

Changing this situation will require Caribbean countries to make the issue of sanitation and wastewater management a greater priority. Training professionals in the sector, the goal of this Workshop, is both necessary and of increasing urgency.

Argent Tillett of Belize receives certification from Timica Richards of APUA

Algy Jarvis-Johns of Suriname receives certificate from Maurice

Jones, Workshop Facilitator

Rushell-Kay Ricketts of Jamaica receives certificate from

Stephen Lawrence of CDB

Carol Gill of Barbados receives certificate from

Christopher Corbin of UNEP


The sports clubs of the Saint Lucia Electricity Ser-vices Limited (LUCELEC) and the Water and Sew-erage Company (WASCO) combined to host the 26th Annual Caribbean Utility Employees Asso-ciation (CUEA) Easter Festival in Saint Lucia from April 2 to 6.

The Easter festival is held annually in a different member country and normally results in economic benefit from the influx of over 300 visitors to the chosen destination.

The festival also normally includes the CUEA an-nual general meeting, a community project, island tours, a sports day, a cookout, costume party, cul-tural and social nights, and a shopping day.

Participants viewed presentations by local carni-val bands and by the Saint Lucia Tourist Board on the St. Lucia Jazz and Arts Festival, with a view to offering special packages and incentives to encour-age their return to the island.

The theme for this year’s festival “Unity in Utili-ties” is in line with the mandate of the CUEA to bring employees of Caribbean utilities together to engage in a series of sporting, cultural and com-munity service activities and foster the sharing of experiences and information among participating islands.

The CUEA boasts a membership of eighteen utility employee clubs from thirteen Caribbean countries, including Jamaica, Trinidad, Saint Vincent, Barbados, Saint Kitts, Dominica and Antigua among others.

The clubs’ membership varies among the water,

electricity and telecommunication sectors.The event in Saint Lucia this year was sponsored

by the Saint Lucia Electricity Services Limited (LU-CELEC), the Water and Sewerage Company (WAS-CO), the Saint Lucia Tourist Board (SLTB), Bay Gar-

dens, Excel Signs, 4Imprint USA, The Body Holiday LeSport, OHM International, Coconut Bay, Chemi-co, Windward & Leeward Brewery Ltd., AMR Pipe-line Products Company UK, Ramco Plastics, Win-man Ltd. and St. Lucia Distillers.

Over 300 from regional utilities sported in St. Lucia for 2015 Regional Easter Festival

Participants from the Caribbean and around the world earlier this year celebrated the signature of the Memorandum of understanding (MoU) between CWWA, CAWASA, PWWA and GWOPA/UN-Habi-tat at the 7th World Water Forum in Korea.

Special thanks were however offered to all partici-pants from the Caribbean delegations by Jose Luis Martin Bordes, Programme Officer, GWOPA/UN-Habitat.

In communications to CAWASA, he said “The MoU will foster inter-regional cooperation to develop the capacities of water and sanitation operators in these two regions.”

He also offered “special thanks to my former col-league Taeko Yokota, who left GWOPA very recently, but who was instrumental in organizing this Inter-regional Session and proposing the signature of this MoU”.

Special thanks were also offered to CAWASA Presi-dent Bernard Ettinoffe and CWWA President Jason Johnson “for their presence in and contribution to our Session in the 7th World Water Forum in Korea.”

Boosting inter-regional cooperation and capacity building

MoU signed between CWWA, CAWASA, PWWA, GWOPA/UN-Habitat, at 7th World Water Forum in Korea

President of CAWASA Mr Bernard Ettinoffe (2nd from right with red tie) and President of CWWA Jason Johnson (next to him with pink tie) along with other top executives of CAWASA, PWWA and GWOPA/

UN-Habitat at the 7th World Water Forum in Korea

Caribbean countries have been warned to prepare for a drier than normal hurricane season, even as forecast-ers say the effects of the lower rainfalls will be felt in the dry season of 2016.

“Could it be like 2009-2010? Well, if it going to be any of the year from now and a couple of years from now, it is likely going to be this year,” climatologist Cèdric Van Meerbeeck of the Caribbean Institute for Meteo-rology and Hydrology told the Regional Climate Out-look forum for the 2015 wet/hurricane season yester-day.

The US-based National Oceanic Atmospheric Ad-ministration (NOAA) is predicting six to 11 named storms for the 2015 Atlantic Hurricane season, but re-gional disaster officials have warned Caribbean coun-tries not to become complacent.

“What we can expect for the wet season or the hur-ricane season — that means from today until the end of November — is that the temperatures are going to feel hotter than usual and that is pretty much throughout the Caribbean,” Van Meerbeeck said yesterday.

He said, however, that the discomfort level should not be as high, since there will be less humidity.

Van Meerbeeck said that with a drier than usual sea-son, forecaster are already beginning to be worried about the impact on productive sector come next dry season, which traditionally runs from December to May in most part of the Caribbean.

“The dry season is our tourism season. That is when most of our water is being used not only by tourists but also extinguishing fires, also by the farmers if they want to irrigate. There are many sectors that consume water in the dry season and our water reservoirs are not recharged in the wet season, they are recharged in the dry season before that,” he said.

“So, if our wet season is going to be drier than usual, we are starting to be worried at this stage. But the ad-vantage of knowing it already is that we can prepare, we have a longer time to prepare for that severe dry season that we probably are going to have next year,” Van Meerbeeck said.

He said the drier conditions will mean fewer show-

ers, and wet spells, and, in total, less rainfall accumu-lating for much of the region, except The Bahamas.

“The Bahamas behaves a bit differently when we are in a state of El Niño,” Van Meerbeeck said of the warming of the Pacific waters near the equator that affects weather condition in the Caribbean and other parts of the world.

“In El Niño, what you see is that the conditions in the atmosphere lead to less showers, less thunderstorm, less tropical showers and cyclones, in the main, the Antilles islands and in The Guianas and in Belize to a certain level, but, in The Bahamas, you get a certain effect, you get more showers. So that part will be wet-ter,” Van Meerbeeck said.

The two-day meeting brought together weather fore-casters, disaster managers, and other officials from 25 countries and territories from across the Caribbean.

It was organised by Caribbean Institute for Meteorol-ogy and Hydrology and forms part of the Caribbean Climate Outlook Forum, which meets every year at the beginning of the dry and wet seasons. (CMC)

Forecasters say effects of drier 2015 rainy season will actually be felt next year

e-SourcePage 12 January-April 2015

The Water Authority in Our Community

The Authority strives to be an example of good corporate citizen-ship in the Cayman Islands by participating in and contributing to a variety of charitable events and initiatives. Take a look at some of the ways in which the Authority has given back to the community in 2015 so far!

The Authority participated in the Cayfest 2015 Dress For Culture Day to celebrate the diverse cultures that make up the Cayman Islands’ com-munity. Employees also dressed down in purple to support Big Brothers Big Sisters and the vital role it plays in empowering local youth.

The Authority also demonstrated its commitment to education by spon-soring the 2015 Rotary Central Science Fair and participating in the STEM Carib 2015 Conference.

Meanwhile, the Authority confirmed its commitment to a healthy nat-ural environment by participating in and sponsoring the Chamber of Commerce 2015 Earth Day Clean-Up.

The Authority also sponsored a bed in the Rotary Sunrise 2015 Bed Race to eradicate polio and, earlier in the year, donated funds raised through its annual Project Angel Tree to Cayman HospiceCare.

The Water Authority was established in 1983 as a statutory body responsible for supplying pure, wholesome and affordable drinking water to the people of the Cayman Islands.

OUR COMMITMENT to you...

KNOWLEDGE ZONE

HURRICANE PREPAREDNESS

Atlantic Hurricane Season starts on 1st June. Here are some tips to help you prepare your home and business for hurricane season:

Before the Storm Trim or remove trees and

shrubs close to your water pipes and meter box

Locate your sewer clean-out lid and clear away any vegetation or obstructions

Monitor the local radio and the Water Authority website for important updates

Visit us online for more, helpful tips!

GRAND CAYMAN P.O. Box 1104 Grand Cayman KY1-1102 Cayman Islands Tel: (345) 949-2837 Fax: (345) 949-0094 Email [email protected] www.waterauthority.ky

CAYMAN BRAC P.O. Box 240 Cayman Brac KY2-2002 Cayman Islands Tel: (345) 948-1403 Fax: (345) 948-1404

The Water Authority in Our Community The Authority strives to be an example of good corporate citizenship in the Cayman Islands by participating in and contributing to a variety of charitable events and initiatives. Take a look at some of the ways in which the Authority has given back to the community in 2015 so far!

HR Briefs

Welcome: Gary Phillips Engineer - Wastewater Katreena Ebanks Cashier Supervisor

Farewell:

Claudia Callander HR Administrative Assistant

Here at the Water Authority, we believe only you should be able to access your account information.

If you are seeking information about an account, such as the current balance or the account number, but you are not the account holder or have not been authorised by the account holder to access the account, the Authority cannot give you that information.

If you are a tenant who regularly pays your bills in-person at the Authority’s Administrative Headquarters, you should seek to

be added to the account in question. Your landlord may request that you be added to the account as a tenant by completing the Customer Service Request Form. Please see a Customer Service Representative for more information.

If you plan to pay your bill in-person, you must bring a copy of the bill you are paying when you come to the Authority’s Administrative Headquarters. If you cannot bring the bill itself, you should know beforehand the account number and the amount due to be paid.

Cashiers cannot accept payments towards an account unless they are presented with a copy of the bill, or with the account number and amount to be paid. Customers may provide details of the account and amount to be paid to the Cashier verbally or in writing.

In all instances, account queries should be directed to the Customer Service Representatives. Cashiers will not be able to answer any questions about a customer’s account— which includes questions about the account balance or bill amount.

Who Can Access Your Account Information?

The Authority participated in the Cayfest 2015 Dress For Culture Day to celebrate the diverse cultures that make up the Cayman Islands’ community. Employees also dressed down in purple to support Big Brothers Big Sisters and the vital role it plays in empowering local youth.

The Authority also demonstrated its commitment to education by sponsoring the 2015 Rotary Central Science Fair and participating in the STEM Carib 2015 Conference.

Meanwhile, the Authority confirmed its commitment to a healthy natural environment by

participating in and sponsoring the Chamber of Commerce 2015 Earth Day Clean-Up.


Interested in learning more about working for the Water Authority? Visit us online to learn more about our team!

The Authority is also responsible for the proper treatment of wastewater and for the protection of the fresh groundwater lenses that exist throughout the Cayman Islands.



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Compton Dam at Roseau, resulting in low water levels in some areas and none in others. The island’s water company, WASCO, earlier this year predicted the drought conditions would persist again and undertook a forced series of measures, including rationing in several areas island-wide, to conserve water and maintain supply.

Mains remain closed at periodic daily intervals, resulting in the temporary closure of at least one major private girls’ secondary school after its reserve water supply ran out.

The authorities, including the Water Resources Management Agency (WRMA) say the grave situation is likely to persist for some time – at least up to the projected end of the emergency period.

There are the natural complaints, but the local water authorities are optimistic that the conservation message is getting through.

Senator Fletcher says he’s encouraged by signs that people around the island are taking measures to save water now, more than before.

He commended Saint Lucians “for responding positively” and – like everyone else – prayed for “a little rain now and then”, even though he and others also warn against any complacency from the few intermittent and brief showers that merely

sprinkle the overly parched surfaces. The minister noted, “The hurricane season has started, but you’ll never believe that when you look at the weather.

“But I think people should be commended for the way they have been responding during the emergency to our call to be more prudent in the way they use water.”

The minister warned too against “people taking water for granted in these times.” He says it’s important not to let-up on conservation while the water authorities

explore immediate, medium and long-term water resource management measures to address the national water situation.

According to Dr Fletcher, “The availability of water is becoming a serious issue around the world.

“If you look at what’s been happening in California of late, the drought is also so serious there that people are being advised not to water their lawns.”

The minister noted drought and its effects on water resources “is becoming a seri-ous issue around the world” and “for small countries like ours, during times like this when water is scarce, we have to pay attention to how we handle and can better manage our water resources.”

The island’s second water-related emergency in two years was declared on May 20 and will last until July 31st 2015.

Minister commends Saint Lucians for positive response to 2nd National Water Emergency!

Continued from Page 8

cawasa inc e-source newsletter - june 2015

Environment

water page

caribbean water

dominica water

water woes

way water

problems of water loss

wasco water loss reduction

world water day