The Water Resource Authority (WRA) is allaying fears that there is inadequate supply of freshwater to facilitate intense resort development, particularly on the island's north coast. However, the authority is concerned about the "lack of integrated planning for delivery of water supply across the island".A story published in The Sunday Gleaner on May 11 referenced environmentalist Hugh Dixon's view that the scope of the ongoing resort development was outpacing the availability of water for the needs of local communities.
within the demand predicted
But WRA Managing Director Basil Fernandez discloses, in a recent letter to the editor, that "the water allocated and used by the resorts on the north coast is within the demand predicted". He points to the National Water Resources Development Master Plan (NWRDMP) of 1995, which projected that by 2015 the tourism sector islandwide would require 23.05 million cubic metres per year.
This was initially based on a demand of 1,137 litres per room per day. The WRA subsequently upgraded these figures and now conservatively uses a demand of 1,817 litres per room per day. Fernandez says the newly constructed hotels use water below this rate, while the older hotels use water at a much higher rate than the projected demand.
While noting that there are "sufficient water resources to meet the demands", Fernandez argues that these "can be reduced if there is an increase in the efficiency of use by both citizens and the hotels by water conservation through the use of water-saving devices and reuse of treated effluent."
local communities deprived
Reacting to concerns, raised in the previous Sunday Gleaner article, that resort developments received water to the detriment of local communities, Fernandez explains that the WRA allocates water to the National Water Commission (NWC) "to meet the demand of a service area, which will include the local population and hotel/tourist developments". The WRA head adds that major developers pay a fee to the NWC as part of the cost to provide a new water system, which also benefits the local population.
While Fernandez is confident there are adequate sources of water to supply the country's immediate and long-term needs, he rues the uncoordinated approach to development on the island. To make the point, Fernandez cites a meeting held in Montego Bay last year where "new and exciting developments" were introduced, "but not a word was said about the water demands and how they were to be met, the sewage treatment and disposal, the drainage to cope with increased runoff, and housing for workers to reduce squatting and possible contamination of water resources, which can affect availability and reliability of supply.
"This type of development mode needs to be stopped and a more proactive and integrated mode implemented," he states.
The WRA letter also addresses The Sunday Gleaner's report of a drying up of freshwater supply due partly to saline intrusion. This was based on a 2005 report prepared by the Statistical Institute of Jamaica, which stated that 10 per cent of freshwater supply had declined.
record groundwater levels
But, notes Fernandez: "A review of the impact of the 2007 rainfall on water resources across the island indicates that record groundwater levels and stream flows have been occurring. The issue is the capability to effectively and efficiently harness the resource." He adds that the Water Resources master plan indicates that the quantity of water available for development is still high, at over 4,000 million cubic meters per year.
In addition, Fernandez reports that a licensing regime for the sinking of wells introduced 12 years ago, has arrested the occurrence of saline intrusion on the south coast of the island. "This, coupled with very wet years since 2001, and high aquifer recharge, have led to reduced saline intrusion and improved water quality (in the Rio Cobre and Rio Minho hydrologic basins)," he states.
