Watering Down The Response To The Drought

Watching how the government deals with the current drought in Barbados is an interesting lesson in crisis management. The notice that is published in today's newspapers shows that the government/Barbados Water Authority (BWA) feels that despite the extensive dry period that has been hitting the island, and also many other islands in the Caribbean area, it feels that voluntary restraint is all that is needed now. Stage 1, which is what the BWA has now instituted, by 'encouraging customers to practise good water use habits and employ voluntary conservation measures' is something that should really be a basic aspect of how life is lived in a water scarce country.

I'm one of those who thinks that voluntary measures would have been appropriate much earlier, if only to put into people's minds that the situation was grave some weeks ago, could get very serious, and that would require stiffer responses, including mandatory daytime shut-offs. Having Stage 2 (which will be 'if the situation demands', whatever on Earth that means) may involve official prohibition and night-time shut offs in selected areas as a next step begs the question of how bad the situation needs to be before that stage is implemented. Stage 3, 'if the situation does not improve', will involve 'more austere measures' and 'extended shut-offs...even during the day'. To me, it is a wishy-washy approach that suggests that because 'most of our water systems have stood up relatively well when compared to our neighbours', and that Barbadians do not need to rethink radically how they approach water use. It seems to leave people with a sense of satisfaction that by having done nothing so far, the country has had enough of a response. So, the fact that some areas are having water problems and the numerous bush fires are almost normal. That does not seem to be the right message and response.

Judging by the way that some people around me on Monday evening scurried in a panic when they started getting messages on their phones that there would be water shut offs with immediate effect. Anger that this could happen without prior warning quickly turned to a mad rush to go home and fill buckets. Within a day, the BWA was indicating that the messages were a hoax. But, people seem primed for a need for a very drastic limitation on regular water use. Should the government not encourage that response more vigorously?

Water: Not A Drop To Waste

The following piece was offered by Kammie Holder. He will start new column, "Swimming Up Stream", in the Saturday Nation from next Saturday March 5. He writes that 'It will offer serious critique, humor and obviously mobilization of your thinking'.
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Something is fundamentally wrong with our decision-makers’ brains: there seems to be a fault in their logic and reasoning area. It`s Tuesday morning, 1:30am, yet sleep eludes me, because something is bothering me. I took my usual trip to the bathroom and and without much thought depressed the tank lever and the toilet was flushed; a function we take for granted and other Caribbean countries, even those with rivers cannot, because of drought caused by climate change. Jamaica, Trinidad and even Guyana with their rivers have being experiencing dry taps and saw it fit to ration their water supply.

People, thanks to global warming, droughts in one area and flooding in others will be the norm so get used to it. A growing population, urbanisation, deforestation, global climatic changes and pollution are some reasons for the increased pressure on the existing water bodies. Population expansion is the single biggest reason behind the increased pressure on fresh water resources. Water consumption has almost doubled in the last fifty years and naturally, per capita availability of water has steadily decreased.

I have heard lots of talk on Barbados not being a water scarce country so I will inform the uninformed that water is a finite commodity. If a country has less than a thousand (1,000) cubic metres (m3) per capita per year it is designated a Water Scarce Country. Barbados’ available water resources are currently rated by the FAO at (390) cubic metres per person. One cubic metre is equivalent to 220 gallons. We are adjudged to be the fifteenth water scarce country in the world.

Though approximately 70 per cent of the earth’s surface is covered by water, only 2.5 per cent of it is fit for drinking. The rest is all salt water, which fills up the vast expanse of the oceans and seas — unfit for human consumption. Why then in 2010 are we still flushing expensive potable water down our toilets and using it for agriculture?

Common sense also tells me that the Barbados Water Authority (BWA) should have long ago been encouraging persons to conserve water and start water rationing. Logic suggests to me that the BWA is leading the Minister responsible for the BWA rather than the Minister leading the BWA. This modus operandi can only lead to poor judgment and chaos, as well as poor decision-making. Thus it’s like a case of a private leading a troop into battle, rather than the Commanding Officer. Will it take our taps in hotels, schools and restaurants to run dry before we act?

Mr Lowe, this is an issue of national security. Please show some leadership and stamp your authority. Our inability to imagine what we may be faced with and be proactive is because we have never experienced the stench from unflushed toilets. Can someone tell me if the BWA management has employed an obeah man or some seer, thus the delay of a water caution decision until March? Or is this another case of poor advice from technocrats to ministers who are afraid to manage their ministers for fear of been accused of micro-managing.

Mr Lowe can you please pilot legislation as your legacy, so that all homes can be encouraged through a tax rebate to install water tanks for water harvesting?

Finally, I genuinely recommend the reading of the Biblical parable of the Ten Virgins (Matthew 25:1-13) to those responsible for the managing of our water supply.
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