ST. VINCENT-CWSA planning for the worst as dry season persists

KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent, CMC – The Central Water and Sewerage Authority (CWSA) says it is planning for the worst should the anticipated start of the rainy season not materialize from June 1 this year.

“We can tell you we are hoping that we can have some rain even within the next two weeks. But there’s no guarantee that the traditional [wet] season will start on time,” CWSA general manager Winsbert Quow told a news conference.

Like other Caribbean countries, St. Vincent and the Grenadines is affected by a prolonged dry season, and Quow said, “That’s why we thought it best to come to the public now to say that we can’t tell you how long this would be.”

He says no forecaster can say with certainty when the rains will return.

“So, we are saying that we are hoping for the best but preparing for the worst. … this is a significant challenge that we are facing.

“And we want the public to know what we are doing to try and alleviate the problem in terms of rationing, and we also want you to know what you can do to help play your part in alleviating this challenging situation.”

The CWSA operates 12 water supply sources, four of which supply 40 percent of consumers in St. Vincent, and they are at “critically low levels.”

Under the rationing regime, consumers on the southern and southeastern portions of the island will be without water from 10 am to 4.00 pm and from p.m.9.00 pm to 5.00 am (local time) until further notice.

The authorities have also announced similar time frames for other consumers in other parts of the island. Quow said that during the period that water is scheduled to be on, CWSA “can guarantee you right now that you should get water.

“If it’s a case where, as is happening in other countries, it gets to the point where you cannot supply based on the fact that the reservoirs are so low, then you have to look into the possibility of trucking waters to some communities.”

CWSA public relations and marketing manager Joan Ryan said the company cannot guarantee that the water will always be available as customers want it, “not within this kind of critical condition that we are going through.

“So, what the technical section has device is the best-case scenario to ensure that we receive water within a reasonable period,” Ryan told reporters, adding that CWSA is urging people living at higher elevations to contact the authorities in the event they are not supplied with water an hour after the scheduled return.

Quow said that drier-than-normal conditions are affecting other Eastern Caribbean countries, including Grenada and St. Lucia, and a recent study concluded that this trend is due to climate change.

He told the media that the data show that while January was wetter than usual at the Dalaway water source, there was lower-than-normal rainfall in February, March, and April compared to the five-year average.

“For example, in February, there was a 74.26 percent reduction. In March, there was a 49 percent reduction. And, in April, it was just about 55 percent reduction,” Quow said, adding that there has also been an increase in temperatures, with March 2024 being about two degrees Celsius above what is average for that month.

“So you’re seeing the compounding effect of reduced rainfall and increased temperature. And that’s what’s driving the low water availability. We’ve seen it in our stream flows as well.”

He said January was “a significantly rainy” month.

“It was an anomaly. We had a lot of rain in January, but from February to April, from my data, our streamflow has also been steadily decreasing. So, in February, it was about 1.54 million gallons; in April, we see it being just about 1.1 million gallons. So, a reduction of 29 percent.

Quow said CWSA’s technicians have been doing their best to ensure that all customers have water in their taps for at least during some parts of the day.

“It’s a 24-hour operation. In particular, one of our systems has to be switched every half an hour for the entire day,” he said.

However, even with the rationing, consumption has remained the same; the CWSA manager said the average daily consumption was about 2.5 million gallons.

Quow said that some consumers, despite the prolonged drought, want to wash their cars more and water their lawns and flowers more.

“Some people even want to wash down their homes because of the dust. Now, that’s just exacerbating the problem. We need Vincentians to change how you use water, particularly in the dry season,” he said, adding that the law allows the CWSA to disconnect the supply to people who waste water.