Below we spoke with Basil Fernandez, the former Managing Director at the Water Resource Authority (WRA), who shared his perspectives on the state of our water resources in Jamaica.


Hey Basil, could you share your name, your previous role, and length of service at the Water Resource Authority (WRA) with our readers?

Basil Fernandez (BF): My name is Basil Fernandez and my role at the Water Resource Authority (WRA) started at the Geological Survey Department (GSD) which I joined in December 1968, as a Geological Assistant.

At the GSD I was assigned to the United Nations Development Program/FAO/Government of Jamaica Water Resources Projects. I graduated up through the ranks at WRA which was then known as the Water Resources Division, then it went on to become the Underground Water Authority before transforming into the Water Resources Authority in April 1996. I was Acting Managing Director from late 1995 and was fully appointed by Cabinet to the position of Managing Director in early 1996.  I served as Managing Director of the Water Resources Authority up until 31 March 2016 when I demitted office. So that’s about 47.5 years of service in the water sector in all.
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The WRA was intended to gather information on our water resources and support the National Water Commission, the National Irrigation Commission, and the Rural Water Supply.

How did you come to be Jamaica's resident "water expert"?
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BF: People say that, but I don't know. As a technician, I spent a lot of time in the field, and I saw working in hydrogeology as a career more than just a job. I accumulated a lot of knowledge by going across the island and being involved in several projects, working with drillers, and partnering with several international agencies. I learned from these experiences at home and across the globe, from the Far East to Europe and North America. When people say that I am an expert, it may be because I think logically, evaluate a problem, identify the solutions, and implement them not based on politics or any bias but based on scientific facts.

The Water Resource Act was signed into law in April of 1996, and it says clearly that the function of the WRA is to manage the water resources of Jamaica and maintain a healthy water balance. The WRA grew out of a UNDP/FAO/GOJ project and was staffed by retired experts from the United States, England, Yugoslavia, and all over the world. They set up the Water Resources Division, and its role mirrored the United States Geological Survey Water Resources Division.

The WRA was intended to gather information on our water resources and support the National Water Commission, the National Irrigation Commission, and the Rural Water Supply. The WRA is also a part of NEPA’s technical committee that assesses applications for housing developments, the disposal of wastewater, and other environmental issues that may impact water resources.
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Unfortunately, salaries for trained staff at that level were low. I started losing people. As fast as I trained staff and built succession, they migrated to different places for better opportunities.

What was your official and unofficial role at WRA?
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BF: My role as Managing Director was to ensure that government policy was passed down through the WRA board and executed as efficiently and effectively as possible. When I took over the WRA, I found that the political directorate knew a lot about the National Water Commission (NWC) and the National Irrigation Commission (NIC), but no one paid much attention to the WRA. My motivation was that all agencies and individuals who depend on water need to understand what management of water resources entails because you cannot have a reliable, sustainable water supply without proper management.

PUBLIC EDUCATION:

Management involved a lot of education for members of the public. We established a partnership with a group called Project WET, which developed water education resources for teachers and students. Our staff gave presentations in schools about Jamaica’s water resources. We shared scientific research with them, so fifth and sixth form students could do their research for SBAs and other school projects.

BRAIN DRAIN AND EMPLOYEE RETENTION:

To effectively carry out water resources management, you need a highly trained cadre of professionals. Many people employed at WRA started straight out of university with a first degree, mostly in geology. Once you understand our geology, it is easy to understand the hydrogeology of the island.

At that time, training was available through scholarships from international governments. So we built a cadre of professionals, as they came out of university and got some experience (about two-three years), then we sent them abroad to complete a Master's program. We were also building a succession system to build the capacity for someone to take over after my tenure. Unfortunately, salaries for trained staff at that level were low. I started losing people. As fast as I trained staff and built succession, they migrated to different places for better opportunities. So, I think I lost at least 10 to 14 people to Canada, whom I trained over the last two to three decades.
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The infrastructure for sewerage had not kept pace with the expansion in housing, so everyone managed waste with a soak-away-pit in their backyard. Eventually, it became out of sight and out of mind, but it does not actually go away – it leeches into the groundwater.

What are the main components of Kingston’s water supply system?
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BF: The rock type of the island determines our water resources:

1. The volcanic and volcanoclastic rocks lie mainly in the East of Jamaica (where most of the extinct volcanoes are) and don’t have any permeability, so when rain falls, water runs straight off. Areas covered by this rock have surface water as the main source (rivers and streams). These rocks are aquicludes- meaning they are of low permeability and don’t readily yield water to wells or springs.
2. The other two-thirds of the island (the Western section) is limestone. When this rock undergoes fracturing, fissuring, or dissolving, it creates conduits. When I speak with old country folks, you hear them say, “Yes sah, when the rainfall you can hear the riva a run under di ground” this is water running through conduits or channels in the limestone, and you get groundwater when the water settles in an aquifer.

The city of Kingston lies atop the Liguanea Plain, made up of alluvial material (eroded from volcaniclastic formations) and consists of sand and gravel, silt, and clay. In the past, Kingston water was supplied by surface water from the Hope River via the Mona Reservoir and the Wagwater River via the Hermitage Reservoir. The former Kingston Water Commission drilled wells starting around the 1940s (when mechanical drilling was introduced) into the alluvium in Kingston. They found sufficient water of good quality and used it for domestic purposes along with surface water. Several industries along the bottom of Marcus Garvey Drive and Spanish Town Road like; Red Stripe, Seprod, Berger Paints, Zero Processing & Cold Storage, and J. Wray and Nephew have wells that they use in the processing and to keep their plants running.

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THE POLLUTION OF KINGSTON'S GROUNDWATER:

The infrastructure for sewerage had not kept pace with the expansion in housing, so everyone managed waste with a soak-away-pit in their backyard. Eventually, it became out of sight and out of mind, but it does not actually go away – it leeches into the groundwater. So, we noticed increases in nitrate concentrations in the groundwater across Kingston.

In my research, I traced the contamination of one groundwater well at the foot of Red Hills. Nitrate levels had gone from 5mg/litre to 100mg/litre (a 2000% increase) in a few years. As housing expanded on the limestone hills with soak-away systems, sewage flowed through the limestone to the groundwater table and contaminated the groundwater, rendering it unusable.
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Can you talk about other groundwater sources that have been contaminated?
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BF: Most of the groundwater in Kingston and the Liguanea Plain is contaminated. If you were to draw a line running east-west from crossroads to Half-Way Tree, all the water resources south of that line going down to the coast cannot be used for domestic purposes. Some of the water is used for industrial purposes like washing and cooling. A significant volume, about 5 - 8 million cubic metres per year, was abandoned because of the contamination of the Liguanea Alluvial aquifer.

The NWC is trying to put sewerage systems in place, but it is very piecemeal, and as development occurs. I recently saw that with the construction of some high-rise apartments along Charlemont Road. NWC put a sewerage line right along the middle of the road; those apartments won’t be pumping into soak-away pits; they will connect to the sewerage line that runs to the Soapberry Treatment Plant.
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Can groundwater be restored?
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BF: Over time, rainfall will recharge the alluvial aquifers and reduce the point sources of contaminants. The aquifer will clean itself up naturally, but that will take a long time and require getting rid of all the soakaway pits. High nitrate concentration in water does not affect adults, but it can seriously impact babies and mothers who are breastfeeding and causes what they call 'blue baby' a symptom of nitrate poisoning.

SEWERING KINGSTON:

Many years ago, the NWC developed a plan for the corporate area that outlined how the entire city of Kingston could be sewered. Before this, only about 30% of the municipality connected to the sewer system, so it will require a considerable investment to build out this plan. The last estimate I saw was around $5-10 billion USD, but it would allow for the cleaning of the groundwater supply.
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Are septic tanks any better than soak-away pits at managing nitrate levels?
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BF: No, not really. I think septic tanks facilitate the separation of solids and liquids. But you must ensure that your septic tank doesn't build up solids. You can add bacteria that eats the poop and cleans the septic tank, but it's not much different from a soakaway pit.

The only solution for the contamination of the Liguanea aquifers has to be a piped sewer system that takes the waste away to a treatment plant, where it can be disposed of after treatment and meet the National Environment & Planning Agency's (NEPA) sewage standards.

We could use the wastewater discharged from soapberry for irrigation, but of course, we have to get over the culture of the farmers. Once you tell them it's treated effluent, they no longer want to use it, no matter how well it is treated. But to do this- Soapberry has to be upgraded and expanded.
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Right now, we are getting to the point of water stress; we are using just about 40% of our available water resources. Islands like Barbados are already dealing with significant water stress because they tap into over 50% of their available resources

How efficiently are we currently managing our water resources?
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BF: The problem with our water resources is the inefficiency of their use; our management is quite good. When I left, the WRA was in good hands; we had a deep knowledge of our resources and what was appropriate for use. There are inefficiencies in several areas:

1. Transmission of water from the source to the destination:

• Leaks - There will always be losses along the pipeline, but we must set an acceptable standard. The NWC's Non-Revenue Water (NRW) program is trying to reduce technical and commercial losses in the system.
• Theft- The Yallahs pipeline brings water from the Yallahs river into Kingston. If you want to see water theft, follow the pipeline in the hills. You cannot expect to run this line through communities without water for their farms and basic needs, and not expect theft. In those situations, they puncture the pipeline and install their PVC lines. There are thousands of connections, which results in significant losses in the volume of water that comes into Kingston to the Mona Reservoir.

2. Inefficient household water usage - We must set up demand management systems. Right now, NWC does supply management; in other words, when the water supply is low they shut off that supply. Alternatively, they could set up systems to reduce the demand for water for households and developments. In many parts of the United States, the water utility works with its customers to reduce water use by changing out inefficient toilets, shower heads, faucets, etc. For instance, regular flow toilets use 3-4 gallons, but low-flow toilets use less than 1 gallon. A part of building resilience to climate change is saving water.
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3. Inefficient irrigation - Our farmers, over the years, have widely used flood irrigation. You cut furrows in the field and open a canal; the water runs down and floods the farm. It is a very inefficient practice and only about 30% effective because the plant can use only so much of that water and no more. The rest evaporates, and some might seep underground and go back to recharge the aquifer, which is what was happening over in Bernard Lodge. Alternatives like sprinkler systems have 40 and 50% efficiency, and drip irrigation systems (the water is placed right at the root of the plant) have efficiency levels up to 60-70%.
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Right now, we are getting to the point of water stress (a situation in which the water resources in a region or country are insufficient for its needs); we are using just about 40% of our available water resources. Islands like Barbados are already dealing with significant water stress because they tap into over 50% of their available resources. So, Jamaica can be approaching that if we don’t manage our water efficiency.

Of course, climate change adds another component, where increasing temperatures increase evaporation from surface water systems like reservoirs and leads to higher irrigation demand.
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Does climate change pose a greater threat to our surface water?

BF: Yes, surface water is more susceptible to changes and variations (yield and quality). During the 2013-2014 drought period, Kingston struggled and had to ration water, while St. Elizabeth, Clarendon, and May Pen, had no problems because they depend on groundwater. Groundwater shows less variation in quality and quantity and can easily meet demand.
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With increased population density in the corporate area, what is your assessment of how we're currently balancing urban growth with our current water resources?

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... if you are beginning to increase densities without increasing the water infrastructure and its capacity, you will have problems that would worsen during drought periods and become even worse as the climate continues to change.

BF: If you have a community with ten single-family dwellings, each with five persons, and a per capita demand of about 40 gallons/day, you would need 2000 gallons per day for that community. You would design a pipeline to take 2000 gallons with some additional water for peak demand and losses in the pipe.

However, if you knock down two of those houses and develop a more dense high-rise building, you go from 5 people per lot to 40 people right away, then you are exceeding the demand for the system designed. With the high-rise buildings, you will need more water, and the pressure will not be enough to pump water beyond a certain level in the apartment building, so you would have to pump the water up yourself. When you do that, you might deprive other persons of water in the system.

But, if you are beginning to increase densities (which means more people) without increasing the water infrastructure and its capacity, you will have problems that would worsen during drought periods and become even worse as the climate continues to change.
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What's your vision of a water-secure Kingston?
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BF: If I have a vision, it would be to look at increasing efficiencies in transmission and use for domestic, irrigation, and industrial. Secondly, we would look at the issue of putting in a sewerage treatment system in every major town in Jamaica. It would receive the effluent, treat it to a standard, and utilize the treated effluent for industrial uses like cooling or washing and irrigation uses. Wastewater is a resource we cannot afford to ignore under a changing climate. There will be a decline in the availability of freshwater resources, but wastewater will always be there!

Let me tell you something; you need to make bold decisions in dealing with water that may not find favor with everybody, but in the long run, will be more beneficial to the country. We need to have somebody to be able to make those decisions. Many people are scared of standing up to politicians because of fears around job security. So, you find that people will have ideas but don't want to expound on them, but we really need to have bold decisions based on scientific facts and not just on politics. That is important for us to manage our water sources and to ensure that we have a sustainable supply for years to come- even after I am dead and gone.
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Thank you so much for taking the time to talk to us Basil, we appreciate learning from THE 'water expert'
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BF: Haha, of course, no problem, always happy to talk.