Kristen Gyles | Land of wood and water shortage

Is it easier to build another water reservoir or go through the process of trying to reverse the effects of years of climate change such that we’ll start getting greater amounts of rainfall? I noted in my article ‘Too much water waste!’ published on September 30, 2022, that every hurricane season there is significant flooding and lots of water goes to waste. In addition to that, the effects of flooding are often so terrible that in some cases there is loss of property and even loss of life. I attempted to wager a bet that within a matter of a few months from the date of that article, we would be faced with yet another drought, and the associated water shortages, notwithstanding the flooding that was taking place at the time.

Well, surprise, surprise ... Here we are, less than six months later – exactly where predicted. The grass has disappeared, and the flowers have wilted. It’s just a pity no one took me up on my bet.

It is a little concerning that almost every year when we are faced with the cyclical issue of water shortage, the solution, at least in modern times, seems to sound a lot like “let us take climate change more seriously”. Yes, of course, we need to take climate change more seriously. But what does that mean, tactically speaking? It can’t be more effective to flood the media with “save the trees” advertisements or to give long speeches about global warming and dry spells than to conserve more of the many tons of water that go to waste every year.

As at the time of writing this article I am struggling to recall the last time I saw the oddity of rainfall. It may have been as long as two months ago in January, if memory serves me well. Since the National Water Commission has had to resort to rationing water in the land of wood and water shortage, we now have to see how best we can stay up to wash our clothes after 9 p.m. when the water is turned back on and we now have to resort to leaving the dirty dishes to be done just before bedtime. Oh goodie!

REAL PROBLEMS

But, trivialities aside, extended periods of dryness coupled with a lack of due preparation cause real problems. They create challenges for households and unfortunately, they create challenges for businesses as well as some government agencies. Schools should not have to be sending students home early and businesses should not have to be curtailing their operations because of water shortage issues. We simply shouldn’t be facing this problem every year and having the same discussions.

As if the current situation isn’t frustrating enough, it’s uncertain just when rainfall will grace us again. It is a ‘wait and see’ affair, since according to the authorities, March is typically the driest month. (You will recall that we just started the month of March.) We seem at this point to simply be hoping for the next outpouring of rain, which we can’t do anything to guarantee. I don’t mean to be a pessimist, but even an optimist will tell you that hope without action doesn’t change anything much.

On March 7, the Mona Reservoir was roughly 56.4 per cent filled. However, on February 17, shortly before the restrictions took effect, water levels at the dam were reported as being 76 per cent. Within a matter of a few days with stringent water restrictions, the dam has seen a reduction of 20 per cent. While we all expect showers of watery blessings soon enough, it is unfortunate that I have to be doing mental calculations to alleviate my fears that the dam could empty any time soon. The situation is simply not very encouraging.

EFFICIENT WATER STORAGE

The most important thing to note here is that this issue has been recycling on and on for years. From time immemorial, there have been calls for greater and more efficient water storage and for years, some communities in Jamaica have been complaining that they have no water in their pipes. Why does it seem we just can’t get this right?

This is not to say that good initiatives to remedy the issue have not been contemplated, but it does seem that we are many times better at ‘contemplating’ than implementing where these brilliant ideas are concerned. And then some initiatives are just stuck in the pipeline for far too long. In 2019, it was announced that a 15-million gallon water treatment plant would be built in Content, St Catherine, and that it was expected to increase the water supply to the Kingston Metropolitan Area. More than three years later, it doesn’t appear much progress has been made beyond contemplation and the signing of agreements.

Let’s treat the country’s water shortage issues as priority issues. All the water conservation techniques and measures that we are prompting citizens to employ will only do so much and will only go so far. A giant water tank and pump should not be required in order for the average Jamaican to make a home. We need long-term solutions to the water shortage problem, and we need them urgently.

Kristen Gyles is a free-thinking public affairs opinionator. Send feedback to kristengyles@gmail.com.