Editorial | Water sustainability critical in urban development

Urban development is at a heady pace, especially in Kingston and St Andrew, to accommodate a burgeoning number of Jamaicans who make a beeline to the capital for a multitude of reasons – primarily in search of jobs, or for education. The urban landscape is rapidly changing from single- family homes to apartment complexes, housing multiple residents, and the number of people per square foot vying for the resources has surged over the years.

For over 937,000 residents of Kingston, water lock-offs, water restrictions and low water pressure, exacerbated by prolonged dry spells, are part and parcel of life. In the land of wood and water, the essential resource is becoming scarce by the day. Kingston is defined by experts as a ‘water-scarce’ city requiring between 189,000 and 227,000-plus cubic metres of water a day (between 55 and 60 million gallons a day).

In May 2019, Prime Minister Andrew Holness, in an address to the Parliament, said that the 52 water sources tapped by the National Water Commission (NWC) have failed to supply enough water to Kingston and St Andrew over the six-year period 2013-2018, with production levels falling as low as 38-41 per cent of daily demand.

This is a cause for concern.

Water experts have called for urgent action. At a recently concluded JN Foundation Water Summit, they stressed that water supply to the new developments cannot be left as an afterthought or it be assumed that water will always be available. Water supply has been a critical and integral part of the planning process.

WATER AND DEVELOPMENT

While, historically, urban development and the basis of human civilisation have been centred around water bodies – from the Nile, Tigris-Euphrates, to Indus rivers – the trend is reversed here. President of NWC Mark Barnett pointed out that the greater part of Jamaica’s water supply is in the north, yet the majority of the population and major developments are in the south of the island.

“Where water is, is often where people reside; but, if you check in our situation, it is not necessarily so,” Mr Barnett said. “And, at the same time, regarding water balance and where water is, what we can see in this same southern belt is … the demand is outstripping the potential, and this is an indication that we have to be careful when we decide to build, because we have to plan and we have to recognise that we do have challenges.”

As Barnett implies, development planning in Jamaica must take into account where most of our water exists and where most of our development is taking place. He, though, stressed that there is sufficient supply of water in Jamaica.

Numerous solutions have been offered – from encouraging water harvesting to sustained investments in water resources – from its source to the end user. Experts at the water summit spoke about inter-basin transfers – moving water from a watershed with a surplus (donor basin) to a watershed suffering from a shortage (recipient basin). Mr Barnett said that, of the 10 notable basins, only five, or 50 per cent, appear to have no significant problems. Reusing waste water (grey water and treated effluent), capturing storm water run-off, and desalinisation are other possible initiatives, though their efficacy needs to be determined. Further, improving the efficiency of the water supply networks is critical.

The stark reality, which we should not be oblivious to, is that debilitating effects of climate change and increasing population pressure are straining Earth’s finite resources, which need to be diligently consumed. Water is now being traded on Wall Street, joining gold, oil and other commodities. Financial analysts are betting their money on it, citing climate change, droughts, population growth, and pollution, which they say are causing water scarcity and its pricing a ‘hot topic’.

Jamaica needs to seek urgent solutions to its water problems.