BWA mulls more desal water

Stiffer penalties for water wastage are likely as the country’s lone water company attempts to respond to the impending threat of drought, its General Manager Keithroy Halliday has  revealed.

Simultaneously, the Barbados Water Authority’s (BWA) Water Quality Specialist Alex Ifill admits that the region’s troubling climate has left authorities with no choice but to seek potable water from alternative sources, including the sea.

The BWA officials provided the update on Friday during a media conference at the Caribbean Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology.

According to Halliday, the utility company has been taking significant steps to mitigate the impact of drought-like conditions from as long ago as 2014 when the island was hit with unusually low rainfall for almost three years.

These measures included the installation of numerous booster stations and mains supply systems and a water prohibition which Halliday credited with strengthening weaknesses in the system which severely affected northern and central parishes last year.

But the BWA boss is not satisfied that Barbadians are doing enough to reduce the impact of an upcoming drought even with a water prohibition which imposed $500 fines on offenders and restricted the use of potable water for a number of purposes including watering plants, washing vehicles and filling ponds.

“I think awareness is growing and heightened conscientiousness exists, but it is not where it should be and we are looking at how we can begin to put restrictions in place. But a part of that is reinforcing the penalties so we can drive home the point that certain changes are required and must be at the core of the cultural change that everyone should collectively embrace,” he said.

Halliday suggested: “It is not only the responsibility of the Barbados Water Authority or the agencies here but it is the collective responsibility of all stakeholders including the public to step forward and take part in understanding and taking their own steps at the community level to increase the awareness and making sure the necessary adjustments are made.”

Meanwhile, Ifill told the media conference that upgrades on the desalination plant will be extremely important as rainfall reductions become the norm and the BWA looks to alternative sources of water.

“We eventually will have to look at other sources like seawater. Although that is expensive, it seems to be the direction in the very near future until we can get a reversal of the effects that we are seeing now,” explained the water quality specialist.

He added: “Most of the groundwater in Barbados comes from rain and as that rainfall reduces, obviously we have to look for other sources. We have tapped into the brackish water resources but obviously that is a mixture of freshwater and seawater so we eventually will have to look for other sources of water like freshwater and seawater.”
kareemsmith@barbadostoday.bb