Many businesses interested in supplying reused water.
Government is moving full steam ahead with plans to use treated, recycled water to ease the burden on the Barbados Water Authority (BWA) as Barbados continues to grapple with water scarcity.
Yesterday, during a conference at the headquarters of the BWA in The Pine, St Michael, Chief Medical Officer The Most Honourable Dr Kenneth George reiterated that the reused water will not be for drinking.
He and other officials were discussing features of the plan under the Water Reuse Act 2023, passed in Parliament in May last year.
The legislation is expected to help reduce local demand and use of potable water for irrigation, washing of roads and buildings, as well as the replenishment of aquifers by farmers, hoteliers and licensed business people.
“We are separating the two functions, the potable function and the function that will be used to save our water resources,” he said.
George added that measures would also be instituted to ensure all who seek to supply or sell reused water to the public would only do so with a permit from the Ministry of Health and Wellness, which will be valid for two years.
Deputy Chief Environmental Officer Ronald Chapman said five properties have registered to date, with up to 60 plants left to receive their registration.
“It’s a work in progress and the legislation indicates that any person who has a water use facility, regardless of the size, they need to be inspected and licensed to make sure that the quality of the water and the purpose for which they will be using our water are all within the legal framework that is in the 2023 Act,” he said.
He added that any party found to be distributing water to the public without a permit could be fined $200 000 and sentenced up to ten years in prison. In addition, anyone guilty of hindering officials during their inspection could be subjected to a fine of $50 000 or up to five years in prison, if found guilty.
“We are working to ensure the safety of the public. This is reused water, this is not potable water coming directly from the Barbados Water Authority. Therefore, it is necessary that we manage that water correctly and ensure that the risk to the public is reduced. The fines are set so that the public’s interest is sought after in a very vigorous way,” Chapman added.
Environmental health specialist with the Ministry of Health, Steve Daniel, said that in order to pass inspection, a plant would be required to meet certain requirements to indicate if it was safe for public use.
The capacity of the plant to disinfect the treated effluent would also be inspected, he said.
One of the projects that would facilitate the Water Reuse Act was the upgrade of the Bridgetown Sewage Treatment Plant, projected for 2028. It will be funded by a grant from the Green Climate Fund, supported by the CARICOM Development Fund and executed in collaboration with
the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre.
Manager of the BWA’s Water Resources and Environmental Management Unit, Alex Ifill, said one of the goals was to utilise the approximately two million gallons of water that flows through the south which could potentially pollute the marine environment, and make it treatable for agricultural purposes.
Additionally, a new sewage treatment facility is to be built at Graeme Hall, Christ Church and that will see the installation of a treated wastewater pipeline originating at the Graeme Hall Swamp and flowing to the 500-acre River Plantation in St Philip to help farmers with perennial water issues there.
“We do not use that aquifer in that area for drinking water purposes. We will then use the two million gallons a day of water to recharge that area, so that therefore, in the times of need, those farmers will have access to adequate water for the irrigation of their crops,” Ifill added.
Acting chief executive officer of the Barbados Agricultural Developmental and Marketing Corporation, Frederick Inniss, said this will be a lifeline for farmers.
“We have already started looking at how we will have signage and the like so that persons understand there are clear limitations as to when that water comes out of the irrigation pipe, what it’s for and how it’s to be used,” he said.
Inniss said a detailed review will be conducted through the BWA and the Fair Trading Commission to address the roll-out of the rates due to farmers for the use of the non-potable water.
“At this juncture, we can’t give a direct answer, but I believe that is something that will become forthcoming well before we actually start the process of implementation,” he said. (JRN)
