Peter EspeutIN MY first column for this century I predicted that the shortage of clean fresh water for domestic consumption will be the issue of the century. I am still of that view. We are a small island with limited water resources - and declining water resources. I am not sure that Jamaicans are sufficiently aware of the issues, despite World Water Day last week.
"Xamaca", the Arawakan word from which "Jamaica" is derived, means "Land of Springs", and indeed the karst limestone geology which dominates much of Jamaica exudes springs all over the country, giving rise to many rivers. During the 20th Century more than 100 Jamaican rivers dried up, which means that there is less fresh water today than was available to my grandparents. How much will be available to our grandchildren?
In this land as elsewhere wood and water are inescapably linked. Water is captured by watersheds, and some years ago Jamaica was rated as having the highest rate of deforestation in the World. The government disputes this ranking, but as old time people say, "If a no so it go, a nearly so!" We have not been able to prevent large scale cutting down of Jamaican forests for firewood, charcoal burning, fenceposts, yamsticks, fish-pot sticks, scaffolding, hut construction and the like; and less trees means less rainwater captured, which means less springs and rivers. Unless we do something quickly to protect our watersheds, our droughts will become more frequent and more prolonged.
DROUGHT
We are in such a drought now. My water supply at home here in Clarendon is being rationed; we have daily lock-offs; my friends in Portmore tell me that the same is happening there. The whole of southern Clarendon is dry; or at least, surface water is rare since most of the water runs underground in limestone caves. Because of giant cracks (faults) in the limestone, salt water from the sea penetrates far inland and mixes with the freshwater coming from the mountains. Many springs in the area are saline (e.g. several that form the Salt River), and the water is not potable. Wells on the Vere plains now deliver highly saline water not even useful for irrigating sugar cane (which tolerates some salinity) and drinking water to lower Clarendon is piped down from the North.
But not enough. Most communities in south Clarendon suffer chronic water shortages. We have had discussions with the NWC about improving the supply of domestic water, but they advise that all the available sources of potable water are already being used. More dry days lie ahead!
It is not that there is no water; all the water that is there is being used, some for domestic purposes, some for irrigation of crops, and some for fishponds. In fact, most of the water used by the St. Dorothy Irrigation Scheme in St. Catherine, is Clarendon water piped over there. One consequence of the tremendous expansion of the pond aquaculture of Tilapia and tropical fish for export, is the gobbling up of the last available freshwater resources in the country. Further large-scale expansion is impossible; the limiting factor is available water resources, and Jamaica is already exploiting its water resources to maximum capacity. We cannot pump our rivers so low that the fish and other riverine creatures die.
And our population increases every day, and demands more water. Some people estimate that humans need about 50 gallons of water each day (so at 2.6 million people we already use 130 million gallons/day). When our population reaches 3 million in a few years time, we will need 150 million gallons/day; from where will we get the additional 20 million gallons/day? And then what after 2020? There are many who pooh-pooh the warnings of us environmentalists; the trouble is, they won't be around to feel the pain of the shortages, or for us to say "I told you so!"
What are the solutions? We have to arrest the serious deforestation that wins us world-class awards. We have to re-afforest our watershed areas to be able to capture more rainwater. We have to rationalise nationally and regionally our use of water and wastewater (the effluent from sewage treatment plants can be reused for certain purposes to free up potable water). The NWC must fix the leaks in its pipes which cause 60% of the water we filter and chlorinate to go to waste.
The government must be sensible about future planning, and locate new towns in areas with adequate water supplies like the parish of Portland rather than in arid, waterless country.
And each of us must look at our water-use habits to see how we can conserve water, to save water. Do you have any idea how much water goes to waste all over Jamaica when hundreds of thousands of us leave the tap running while we brush our teeth?
Peter Espeut is a Sociologist and Executive Director of an Environment and Development NGO.
