THE NEXT 50 YEARS: A better flow - Improvement to Jamaica's water supply needed

Jamaica continues to celebrate 50 years of Independence. We have achieved a great deal; however, there is much work left to be done if we are to progress as a country. We must begin to tackle Jamaica's chronic problems in a targeted and sustained way to make this country a better place to live, work, and grow families. The Next 50 Years, a special Gleaner series, will spotlight some of the challenges we must fix in the coming years. We want to hear from you. Email us at editor@gleanerjm.com and join the debate.

Basil Fernandez, Contributor

IT IS important to understand the evolutionary changes in the water resources and supply process that have taken place prior to Independence and post-Independence.

To date, there have been seven phases: pre-1880; 1880-1940; 1941-1960; 1961-1977; 1978-1985; 1986-1996; 1997-2012; 2012 and beyond. In each phase, significant milestones were achieved. The beyond-2012 period will describe the actions that have to be taken to ensure the sustainable management of water resources and the improvement of water supply islandwide to support national development.

Pre-1880 Phase:

This phase was characterised by the utilisation of relatively small quantities of surface and groundwater resources to mainly satisfy the household needs of the native population and the early European settlers.

Water was also used by the European settlers to satisfy the demands of sugar factories and old aqueducts across the island which transported water to sugar factories. All estates had their own factory as there was no centralised factory.

Groundwater was abstracted using windmills from wells that were dug by hand in the shallow alluvium (sand and gravel) that formed the agricultural plains particularly in the parishes of St Catherine and Clarendon. Today, there are many hand-dug wells still being used in their original state while others have been modified by drilling and gravel packed in them to ensure a reliable system and yield.

Forerunners of the water supply to Kingston date back to as early as 1766 when Roger Hope Elleston, owner of The Hope Estate, constructed an open aqueduct to carry surplus water from his property, through which ran the Hope River, to the town of Kingston. The system fell into a state of disrepair, and its operation was eventually discontinued in 1777.

One of the first-ever piped water-supply systems in the Western Hemisphere originated in the town of Falmouth, Trelawny, using the Martha Brae River as its source. In 1799, the Falmouth Water Works Company was established to supply Water Square in the town of Falmouth as well as visiting ships.

The Headworks Dam at Crescent in St Catherine was constructed to divert water from the Rio Cobre into canals that served the intensely cultivated lower St Catherine Plains.

1880-1940 Phase:

This phase was marked by the attempt to harness surface water on a larger scale to meet commercial, municipal, and agricultural needs.

Included in this phase were the diversion of the Hope River, the construction of the canal/aqueduct and Mona Reservoir to transport and store the water, and the construction of the Hermitage Dam and Reservoir.

The Kingston and St Andrew Water Commission supplied water to the city of Kingston from Mona, plus a number of wells at Cavaliers, Trench Town, Montgomery Corner, Havendale, and Forest Hills, to name a few.

The National Water Authority (NWA) supplied water to all areas outside the city of Kingston using a mixture of springs, wells, and river systems.

This phase saw the introduction of mechanical well-drilling into the island-percussion, or cable tool rigs (Bucyrus Erie). Wells were deeper, of smaller diameter,
completed more quickly, and had a longer lifetime. The introduction of
mechanical well-drilling led to the widespread use of groundwater and
expanded agricultural production.

1941-1960
Phase:

This phase was marked by the large-scale
development of groundwater through the mechanical drilling of wells to
satisfy the irrigation demands of Tate and Lyle on the Clarendon Plains,
and of the United Fruit Company on the St Catherine Plains. They
maintained their own well-drilling equipment, but most of the wells were
drilled by Waterwell and Engineering Construction and Jamaica
Antonsanti, well companies that have now gone out of business. At one
time, Monymusk had over 100 wells pumping from both the alluvium and
limestone aquifers for irrigation of sugar cane in
Clarendon.

Bernard Lodge, Caymanas, and Innswood
estates in St Catherine, and Sevens and New Yarmouth estates in
Clarendon all operated sugar factories with high water demand supplied
by groundwater through the operation of a number of high-yielding wells
and surface water from the Rio Cobre and Rio Minho,
respectively.

This rapid development phase of
water-resources development led to the problem of high salinity of the
groundwater, with seawater intruding into the limestone aquifers of the
Rio Minho in Clarendon and the hydrologic basins of the Rio Cobre in St
Catherine.

This was the phase when no permit or
licence was required to drill and abstract water. This phase is called
"The phase of no control" of water-resources management and groundwater
development.

The phase was also marked
by:

The first systematic collection of streamflow
measurements by the Public Works Department (PWD) to aid in the design
and construction of bridges. These measurements were used to start the
streamflow database of the present Water Resource Authority
(WRA).

Groundwater-level data were collected by the
Geological Survey Department and large sugar estates in Clarendon and St
Catherine on the south coast of the island.

The
first water-level contour map of any place in Jamaica was drawn for
Clarendon and was produced in June or July
1941.

1961-1977 Phase:

This is the
most important phase in the understanding of Jamaica's water resources.
It saw the introduction of the first water resources management tool.
This phase was marked by:

The introduction of
legislation to control well-drilling - a response to the uncontrolled
well-drilling and the resultant problem of saline intrusion into the
limestone aquifers of the Clarendon and St Catherine Plains. The
Underground Water Control Law was drafted in 1959 and passed into law in
1961. The law functioned as the main instrument of water-resources
management. The law required the establishment of the Underground Water
Authority within the Ministry of Agriculture. The Authority was the
implementer of the law and issued licences to drill wells and abstract
water. The law also required the minister with portfolio responsibility
to declare areas of the island critical, and everyone in a critical area
had to apply for a licence to drill.

The first areas
declared critical were St Catherine and Clarendon, due to the salinity
problems, and several years later, St Elizabeth was included when the
construction of the Luana oil refinery was proposed. Yallahs in St
Thomas followed.

The first licence was granted for the
drilling of a well at Rhymesbury in Clarendon and was issued on
February 18, 1964. It was signed by the late John Pusey of the Ministry
of Agriculture, who was then the chairman of the Underground Water
Authority.

The United Nations Development Programme
(UNDP) - Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)-Government of
Jamaica(GoJ) water-resources assessment of various areas of the island
began in 1965 in the Black River Basin in St Elizabeth. These
investigations constituted the first comprehensive water-resources
evaluation ever undertaken in Jamaica. The results of the studies
provided the guidelines for further development of water resources for
domestic and irrigation use.

Between 1965 and 1973,
the following basins and sub-basins would be assessed and inventories of
resources and demands completed: Martha Brae - Trelawny; Montego River -
St James; Bull Savannah - St Elizabeth; Rio Minho - Clarendon; Rio
Cobre - St Catherine; Moneague - St Ann; Negril - Westmoreland; and Dry
Harbour Mountains - St Ann. The project maintained a number of small
coring rigs and one mud rotary drill rig, which were used for
exploration and determination of geology, water levels, and aquifer
characteristics. During the period of the projects, the streamflow
network was expanded, with the construction of gauges on the major
rivers across the island. The project maintained large drilling and
construction units.

The Water Resources Division
(WRD) was established in the Geological Survey Department in 1970, and
the Jamaican staff attached to the UNDP-FAO water-resources project was
seconded to the WRD.

The island went through a severe
drought in1976-77, and in 1977, the Government took the decision to
declare the entire island critical and subjected all well-drilling to
licensing. (The requirement for a licence to drill has since remained in
force.) During this drought period, the wells drilled by the
UNDP-FAO-GoJ project were all commissioned by the National Water
Authority to meet the demand for drinking water in St James, Trelawny,
St Elizabeth, Clarendon, and St Catherine. In 1973, the Water Resources
Division drilled the Up Park Camp well to meet the demands of the
military personnel and equipment at Up Park Camp as well as the Beverly
Hills well for the Water Commission.

The first draft
of a comprehensive
water law for Jamaica
was completed by an FAO legal consultant.

The need
for a water resources master plan to guide decisions for development and
allocation of water resources was formally accepted by the Government
of Jamaica in 1967.

1978-1985
Phase:

During these years, efforts to more efficiently
manage the island's water resources increased.

Efforts concentrated on rehabilitation of overdeveloped aquifers in
Clarendon and St Catherine and on the rational development of
underutilised potential in other aquifers such as Black River in St
Elizabeth.

The WRD continued the UNDP-FAO programme
with assessments of the Upper Rio Cobre (Linstead-Bog Walk) sub-basin
and the Liguanea Aquifer of the Kingston Basin, as well as with the
monitoring of ground and surface-water resources across the island to
build the database that was to be used for the enhanced understanding of
the island's water resources.

In 1980, the merger of
the National Water Authority, which had responsibility for rural water
supply, and the Kingston and St Andrew Water Commission, which had
responsibility for Kingston's water supply, took place to form the
National Water Commission (NWC), which had responsibility for all water
supply islandwide.

The project to prepare a national
water resources master plan was started in 1984.

In
1984, the WRD staff was seconded to the Underground Water Authority,
which was an unstaffed, statutory agency with responsibility for
improving emoluments and retaining staff.

The Carib
Engineering Corporation Limited (CECL) was established in 1983 to
implement the Yallahs Pipeline Project as the first phase of the Blue
Mountain Water Supply Project. The Yallahs Pipeline brought water from
the Yallahs and Negro Rivers in St Thomas to the Mona Reservoir for
meeting the demand of the city of Kingston. The pipeline was completed
in 1986. The transfer of water from St Thomas via the Yallahs Pipeline
led to the closure of many agricultural farms that were now deprived of
water for irrigation.

1986-1996
Phase:

The Water Resources Development Master Plan
report was completed. The plan included the first comprehensive
inventories of resources and demands for the 10 hydrologic basins, the
spatial units of management into which the island was divided. The
hydrostratigraphy of the island was identified and mapped. The water
type - ground or surface - was linked to the
hydrostratigraphy.

The first draft of the new Water
Resources Act was prepared. It was discussed with all stakeholders and
taken to the Legislative Committee of Parliament where it was vetted and
passed.

In 1995, the Water Resources Act was passed
by both Houses of Parliament.

The Water Resources Act
1995 was promulgated into law in April 1996. The Water Resources
Authority was established by the passage of the law. The Water Resources
Act replaced 32 pieces of legislation that affected water-resources
management. The Water Resources Act 1995 was the response
to

1) Increasing trends in water demand and pollution
of ground and surface-water threats from floods and
droughts;

2) The need for a cohesive policy and
legislative framework to guide planning and rational
development;

3) The need for a unified and integrated
approach to water-resources management.

The
allocation framework was revised and implemented. A permit to drill and a
licence to abstract and use water were now required for all groundwater
systems while surface water, which had not previously required a
licence, was now subject to a licence. The interaction between ground
and surface water was recognised and water quality in aquifers and
streams mandated to the newly established WRA. Well-drillers were
subject to licensing. Illegal abstractors were
targeted.

1997-2012 Phase:

The WRA
was revamped and new personnel added to modernise the agency and to
fulfil the mandate of the Water Resources Act. Standards were set for
well-drilling, yield tests, and obtaining licences.

A
diagnostic study of the Authority was carried out. Research projects
aimed at improving and increasing knowledge of the water resources of
Jamaica, to be completed over the next 20 years, were
identified.

An integrated
water-resources management (IWRM) framework was
developed and moves made to implement IWRM-holistic management of water
resources. The interagency linkages that would lead to successful IWRM
were created.

There has been emphasis on public
education and on informing the political directorate of the need to
provide funding for water-resources management, not just water-supply
development, as the latter is not sustainable without the
former.

• Full computerisation of data and maps has
  been achieved.
• A GIS unit has been established and
  persons have been trained.

In 1998, the Ministry of
Water was established and all water-sector agencies were brought
together for first time. This has led to improved cooperation, increased
water development, and the recognition of the importance of integrated
water-resources management. There has been tremendous success in
implementing large-scale water supply and sewerage projects across the
island. Access to potable water has increased from under 70 per cent to
over 80 per cent.

The Chair and postgraduate course
in water-resources management at the University of the West Indies (UWI)
was established through collaboration with the WRA, the Jamaica Bauxite
Institute, and the UWI. The establishment of the Chair was intended to
address the need for a trained cadre of professionals in water-resources
management in the Caribbean. To date, 12 persons have graduated from
this course with one each working at the WRA and the
NWC.

The National Water Sector Policy was first
drafted by the managing director of the Water Resources Authority in
1994. A steering committee was established to review and complete the
policy. The Inter-American Development Bank provided grant funding to
complete the water policy, which was achieved in 1999 and subsequently
accepted by Cabinet. Public presentations of the water policy islandwide
were completed in 2002. The policy was laid in Parliament in October
2003. It was upgraded in 2004.

Significant gains were
made by working with the bauxite/alumina companies operating in Jamaica
in reducing water-resources contamination through the sealing of waste-
disposal sites, improved waste-disposal techniques, and the reuse of
caustic effluent in the bauxite-to-alumina process.

The Carib Engineering Company Ltd had its name changed in 2004 to the
Rural Water Supply Limited to concentrate on upgrading rural water
supply in rural Jamaica where the access to safe drinking water was less
than 50 per cent.

Ongoing assessment of the island's
water resources has led the WRA to:

• ❍ Upgrade the
  Water Resources Master Plan, enabled by grant funding from the
  Inter-American Develop-ment Bank;
• ❍ Assess the water
  quality around bauxite/alumina plants, facilitated by grant funding from
  the International Atomic Energy Agency;
• ❍ Assess the
  saline intrusion into coastal limestone aquifers, implemented regionally
  with Barbados and Antigua and Barbuda as partners through funding from
  the Organization of American States;
• Undertake
  completing the water-resources assessment of the Cabarita River
  Basin;
• Undertake completing the risk vulnerability of
  the island's aquifers using the DRASTIC methodology;
• Establish a Web-enabled database so that the WRA's entire database is
  now accessible to the public-free of cost;
• Assess the
  potential for rainwater harvesting across the
  island;
• Model climate-change impacts on groundwater
  using various scenarios;
• Using models, assess the
  possible impact of sea-level rise and climate change on the water
  resources of the Yallahs Delta;
• Upgrade the
  hydrologic network to provide data for the assessment of the impacts of
  climate change on water resources.

The NWC is now
producing 190 million imperial gallons of potable water per day from 160
wells, 116 river systems, and 147 springs
islandwide.

Beyond 2012:

The WRA is
now planning for further evolution of the management of water resources
which includes improved documentation of information; more water-
resources assessments; improved data collection through real-time
systems, using GSM; increased public education programmes; modelling and
monitoring of climate-change impacts; and working with regional
partners across the Caribbean to improve water-resources management and
supply sustainability.

The management of the island's
water resources will become critical in the near future with the full
onset of the impact of climate change.

Recommendations
Going Forward:

• Improve the transmission of water and
  efficiency of use in all sectors - irrigation, public supply,
  industrial, and tourism.
• Immediately reuse treated
  effluent, which is a valuable resource now going to
  waste.
• Implement rainwater harvesting, manage
  artificial recharge of aquifers, and reduce non-revenue
  water.

Failure to implement the above will lead to
Jamaica's inability to meet future water demands and to mitigate the
impact of climate change.

Basil Fernandez is managing
director of the Water Resources Authority. Send comments to
editor@gleanerjm.com.