Climate change, pollution, and growing demand are putting increasing pressure on Saint Lucia’s water resources. And experts from the Department of Sustainable Development and the Water Resources Management Agency (WRMA) are calling for urgent action to safeguard the island’s water supply.
Officials highlighted the need for better conservation, improved infrastructure, and greater public awareness at a workshop on climate change and water security on Thursday morning.
Junior Mathurin, a field scientist at the WRMA, reinforced the urgency of conservation efforts, particularly as Saint Lucia enters its dry season. He explained that while the country has been fortunate to receive some unexpected rainfall, this is not a reliable long-term trend, and proper planning is necessary.
Mathurin urged Saint Lucians to adopt better conservation habits, as he noted that some consumers believe that because they are paying for water, they can use it freely.
He advised households to fix leaks immediately, install rainwater harvesting systems, and turn off taps when not in use. Businesses, he suggested, should implement water recycling systems and install low-flow faucets and toilets, while farmers should use efficient irrigation methods and protect riverbanks to prevent erosion.
Mathurin also addressed concerns about over-abstraction, where large companies extract water at rates faster than natural replenishment. While small farmers are exempt from paying fees for water use, larger corporations must contribute to abstraction licence fees. This process ensures that water resources are managed sustainably with government oversight.
Beyond regulation, Mathurin pointed to the WRMA’s role in educating the public.
“One of the tasks of the agency is to go out there and to continue doing awareness,” he said, explaining that WRMA visits schools and communities to teach people how to conserve water and manage it responsibly.
He warned that pollution and poor waste management directly impact the quality of drinking water. Illegal dumping, particularly in rivers, leads to contamination and increases the burden on the Water and Sewerage Company (WASCO), the national water supplier. Mathurin therefore encouraged citizens to utilise proper waste disposal services instead of treating rivers as dumping grounds.
While the government is working on long-term solutions, including upgrading aging pipelines and expanding water storage capacity, he stressed that individual responsibility is just as important.
“We cannot do it by ourselves,” he said. “Let us practise conservation and sustainable methods so we can have a better water supply.”
In a documentary aired during the event, Chief Sustainable Development and Environment Officer, Dawn Pierre-Nathoniel stressed the importance of the National Adaptation Plan (NAP) – a 10-year strategy (2018-2028) designed to help Saint Lucia cope with the adverse effects of climate change.
The NAP highlights eight priority sectors for adaptation action, listing water, agriculture, fisheries, resilient ecosystems, infrastructure and spatial planning, health, education, and tourism as key areas for resilience-building.
Pierre-Nathoniel stressed that the NAP provides a clear roadmap for both short-term and long-term solutions, ensuring that Saint Lucia strengthens its ability to withstand environmental changes. “The NAP allows the country to see what it can do to help build its climate resilience, what it can do to help it better prepare or cope with climate change,” she explained.
She pointed to ongoing projects aimed at climate resilience, including coral restoration initiatives and infrastructure improvements to combat rising temperatures and more frequent extreme weather events.
Pierre-Nathoniel urged communities and businesses to get involved in sustainable practices, stating that there are very tangible actions that can be taken to help address climate change.
“ larger corporations must contribute to abstraction licence fees” Wasco so does include gold courses cabot,Sandals? …What about cruise ships …are we filling these with water? … Do these foreign international and local business owners all have Abstraction licences since they take consume so much exorbitant water usage the rest of the island suffers? An now with jazz there’s 3 months no water right now practically @ODD ….and NOW with JAZZ….AND WATER WASTE IN HOTELS, RESORTS. Oh My Goodness , Water is Life over Musial shows SLP yes? I Thank you …an nice descriptive video Wasco! Let’s Go!!!.
in general it is very traumatic to know this island it surrounded by a body of water and we struggle in this technological age to have a constant water supply. additionally the enginefar we have that design those lay out only to sustain its existence for 6 months is complete nonsense. every 4-6 months pipes that was lady 2 years prior have to be serviced.
The water bottling companies just further process the water and sell to consumers who have no problem paying more for bottled water monthly than they pay WASCO! Such an anomaly needs to be rectified by WASCO charging those companies a suitable abstraction fee.
And yet government allows the building of a 1500 room hotel complex on Reduit Beach, and a huge commercial center near the marina. All new building projects on the island should not be approved unless they will be desalinating sea water for their own use. The citizens of the north are without water, while all the hotels and businesses get plenty of water. So very wrong!
It is very worrying indeed especially the tourism aspect. Well written article and let’s hope the points outlined will be taken up (enforced?). Climate change is a threat to most countries especially small ones like St Lucia and EVERYONE must do their bit, not leave it up to the ‘authorities’ who are often Singley focussed…