When St Lucia\u2019s rainy season began in May, Madeleine Solomon, 55, breathed a sigh of relief. For months, she had been feeling the squeeze of an intermittent water supply that disrupted normal hygiene and food preparation, forcing families like hers to rely on water tanks, rainwater harvesting and bottled water bought from private companies.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m thanking God every day because our situation was really bad,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
The water scarcity crisis plaguing the Caribbean<\/a> nation had become so severe that last March the island\u2019s hospitality and tourism sector considered bringing in water by barge from its neighbour, Dominica. For experts, this was a sign that, as the climate crisis worsens, extreme weather events could trigger systemic risks on the island.<\/p>\n Before the rainy season, intermittent water supply disrupted everything from cooking to hygiene.<\/p>\n Though the rains started to come in May, replenishing the island\u2019s main water sources, weather officials sounded a note of caution<\/a>, warning that this year\u2019s \u201csuper El Ni\u00f1o\u201d<\/a> is likely to limit the relief brought by seasonal showers. St Lucia primarily relies on surface water for its drinking supply, and periods of drought or excessive rainfall can seriously affect this source.<\/p>\n Water scarcity is not a new problem for St Lucia, which has been grappling with it for more than a decade. The issue has become one of the island\u2019s most politically contentious, with the two main political parties \u2013 the Saint Lucia Labour party (SLP), led by prime minister Philip J Pierre, and the United Workers Party (UWP) \u2013 routinely trading accusations of mismanagement of water resources while each held power.<\/p>\n Yet, solving the water problems is likely to take more than good governance or strategic thinking, say experts. James Fletcher, a former government utilities minister and Caribbean Community (Caricom) climate envoy, notes that St Lucia has received substantial multilateral support, which has already been expended on efforts to improve the water supply.<\/p>\n That includes at least $80m (\u00a360m) in World Bank financing across three projects in 2020<\/a>, 2024<\/a> and 2025<\/a>, plus additional EU- and Canada-backed<\/a> technical assistance and other donor support.<\/p>\n \u201cBut these initiatives just scratched the surface,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n Fletcher says one seemingly intractable problem is the loss of an estimated 45% of the potable water produced by the country\u2019s sole Water and Sewerage Company (Wasco)<\/a>. According to him, the island\u2019s 1,125km (700 miles) of pipelines, many of which are old and in poor condition, pose a huge challenge in terms of preventing losses due to leakage.<\/p>\n The island\u2019s old and poorly maintained pipelines lose an estimate 45% of the potable water to leakage.<\/p>\n Leaking is an issue many of the Caribbean\u2019s water utilities face, says Adrian Cashman, chair of the Global Water Partnership<\/a> \u2013 Caribbean technical committee. \u201cIt\u2019s not to say that Wasco is a very bad performer in comparison with others,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n Cashman says St Lucia\u2019s problem is partly due to a lack of \u201corganisational capacity to operate and maintain, and the financial resources to maintain, [water] infrastructure\u201d. The millions spent trying to improve the situation have been like pouring water into a leaking bucket, \u201ccaused by poor maintenance or lack of maintenance\u201d.<\/p>\n It is a big problem to solve, especially for small-island water management agencies, even with outside funding. As is the case for a number of Caribbean islands, water is seen as a public good and generously subsidised by the government. The IMF\u2019s recommendations that water tariffs be raised<\/a> have therefore faced stiff resistance across the region. Wasco did not respond to requests for comment.<\/p>\n Fletcher says customers are charged at rates well below the cost of producing the water. Cashman adds that, with unrealistically low tariffs, \u201cit becomes extremely difficult to operate and maintain the systems. And that will obviously have an impact on the quality of service provided.\u201d<\/p>\n Maintenance is just one part of what Cashman describes as \u201ca constellation of factors that come together\u201d to create the problem. \u201cYou can\u2019t really point to one problem,\u201d he says. Among those factors is the competing demand for water across various sectors of the economy, with the peak tourism season coinciding with the island\u2019s annual dry season, which runs from October to April. One report suggests the island\u2019s hotel sector is the second-highest consumer<\/a> of water, after homes.<\/p>\n Uncontrolled land clearance can lead to landslips and sediment in the water.double quotation markWhen it is raining, we have water. It\u2019s our responsibility to capture it for when there isn\u2019t rainAnja Fernand<\/p>\n Land degradation is also an issue, as it leads to landslides and sedimentation of the water supply. Cashman says that, geologically speaking, St Lucia is relatively young and so landslides can easily be triggered by uncontrolled land clearance. This can lead to water shortages when high levels of sediment enter the water system.<\/p>\n An example is the John Compton Dam, which provides water to approximately half of the population. Despite repeated efforts and millions spent, the dam\u2019s water storage capacity has been reduced by about 400m gallons because of silt buildup over the years, some of it caused by storms.<\/p>\n