Email

Print

As you've seen in the headlines for the past few days, the prolonged drought and the pollution of the New River in Orange Walk has been front and center in the public discourse. These occurrences have hammered home the point that the valuable resource of water that Belizeans enjoy - and even take for granted - is at risk, and that if steps aren't taken to protect the country's water sources, it could become scarce.

And, the Caribbean Public Health Authority has been contemplating this very same issue for the entire region, given that climate change could have a severe impact on the availability of water. So, they've embarked on an initiative in all the Caribbean states called Water Safety Planning.

They want to make sure that the water sources for the CARICOM states are fully protected, and they're currently in Belize to discuss this topic. They're working with the Government agencies and all water providers to ensure that the water you consume is healthy, and will remain that way for years to come.

And since the Belize Water Services is the biggest provider of water to Belizeans, they're running a pilot project for risk mitigation at the BWS Double Run Treatment Plant in Sand Hill, which feeds drinking water to one-third of company's customers countrywide. 

CARPHA, Government and BWS held an extended meeting today to discuss water safety, and they invited the press to cover the event. Here's what the CARPHA facilitator had to say about protecting your drinking water:

Shermaine Clauzel - Representative, CARPHA
"Today, we're assisting both the Ministry of Health and BWS with designing a water safety plan for one system in Belize. So, water safety planning is basically a WHO approach to securing potable water supply, by ensuring that we look at responsibilities that lie with not just with the water utility, but also outside of that, with the consumers at the lower end, and then the watershed at the upper end. We are now looking at. We're doing what is called a system description and hazard analysis. So, we're looking at the supply system from the time water is extracted, the conditions of the surrounding environment, what's going on there, what sort of hazards could be experienced there, what's introduced into the water, whether it's biological, chemical, what is being done to treat it and to ensure that the consumers get the best quality water that fits the health regulations. So what this plan looks like right now is it's still a framework. We're meeting with the consortium of stakeholders representing any entity that has any state in this."

John Bodden - Principal Public Health Inspector
"What we're doing, we're working with the BWS, which is a recipient of this project. And their system actually covers the Northern Highway from the Double Run Plant, which is mile 17 on the Northern Highway. And it goes to Belize City, and from Belize City, up to 8 miles and Hattieville. There are many many challenges. In fact, while we are producing very good quality water, some of the issues that are affecting the quality of water, number 1, is climate change, and that can be seen in the impact we're having in Orange Walk currently. I think we are very fortunate that this did not happen on the Belize River. If that did occur, then this system that we're looking at in the pilot project covers more than one-third of the country's population. So, it would have been a lot of people who would have been without drinking water. We have also the issue with farmers who are using a lot of pesticides, and they're clearing the banks. And so, you're having run-offs getting into the water. We have people who are doing direct deposits of waste from humans into the river, and we have some alterations of the environments, which are contributing to the contamination of drinking water sources. And primarily, some of the sources that we're using in this country are surface water, and those are some of the most high-risk sources to be using. What we do need to do is to ensure that we look at what are the risks associated with those, and how we can manage it to ensure that the water remains safe for processing, and eventually consumption."

Dave Pascasio - Operations Manager, BWS
"A water safety plan for us started many years ago, but we don't control all the factors that should be involved in a water safety plan. When extract water from the Belize River, per se, we are only extracting it from that point, at our treatment plant in Sand Hill. But, what happens upstream from that could affect the raw water when it reaches us. So, the water safety plan encompasses all of that. We do risk mitigation. We look at what are the biggest threats, and we try to work with the key stakeholders in mitigating those risks."

Shermaine Clauzel
"For countries that are typically very water-scarce, and very dry, they've adapted to systems such as those. We're learning, and sort of transferring these lessons to areas that tend to be more water-rich, but are now finding that their sources are dwindling because of extended droughts, but also due to contamination."

As you heard, this pilot project will focus on BWS's Sandhill facility, and once the water security plan has been perfected,  it will be expanded to other water sources around the country.