Sewage issue a wake up call

Use the sewage issue as a wake up call in how water services are managed in Barbados.

This is according to Dr. Adrian Cashman, Director of the Centre for Resource Management and Environmental Studies (CERMES), who was speaking to The Barbados Advocate at the Water Resource Management Seminar facilitated by the Barbados Town Planning Society (BTPS) on Friday at Courtyard by Marriott.

He indicated, “I do believe that as a result of the sewage issue that people realise it is not just a South coast issue, this is not about one dysfunctional plant, this is about how we manage our water services and I think we need to really look at how we manage our water services. I am hoping that the new government takes the opportunity to address this situation.

He reassured Barbadians, “We are not at the point where our taps will run dry, but if we don’t plan for the future we will see a situation where we don’t have the same amount of water available to us as we have now. More worryingly is that the cost of water is going to go up. The changes that we have seen recently are starting to address the cheapness of water, the potential changes we have seen and our perception of the value of water is going to change. We are going to value water much more. We are not at a crisis point, but it is a challenge that needs to be tackled now.

We have to drill down because if we were to go into a drought situation like we had in 2015-2016, there will be challenges in the system and some people will not get the amount of water they would like to get.”

According to him, “As we look ahead with the potential impact of climate change, [that] could negatively impact ground water. In other words if we don’t change our habits and remember we have competing needs, we have the Tourism Industry, Agriculture, residential homes, offices etc they all want water and they are all drawing from the same limited resource, thus we still have demand for water but not the same amount to go around. We can avoid that situation and we have seen good examples globally in how we can use water more effectively and efficiently.” (NB)