A major project aimed at enhancing the island’s water supply system has begun.
The project, titled “AquaRevive: Rehabilitating Springs for Climate-Resilient Water Supply in Montserrat,” is a partnership between the Ministry of Building, Utilities, Infrastructure, Labour, Transportation and Ecclesiastical Affairs, and the Montserrat Utilities Limited through funding from the Green Overseas Territories Programme.
The 12-month project, which forms part of Government’s commitment to sustainable development and climate resilience, will focus on the rehabilitation of Lawyer’s Spring, alongside the introduction of a pilot water-monitoring system.
The objectives of this project are to prepare a technical needs assessment and design document for the rehabilitation of drinking water infrastructure to ensure a climate resilient drinking water supply system, the implementation of a pilot rehabilitation project, and the establishment of a monitoring and maintenance plan.
Director of Energy and focal point for the project, Marissa Allen said the island’s water system has been quietly facing its own growing challenges.
She said it became apparent that the infrastructure is ageing, adding that this was something that needed to be addressed sooner rather than later.
Regional Coordinator for the Caribbean at the Green Overseas Programme, Lina Tode said this unique project could serve as a model for the rest of the region.
She stated: “It really is exceptional in the Caribbean to have an island that can rely on such a great water supply, and that is also safeguarding that supply to the extent that they’re doing it now … So I’m looking forward to sharing this experience with the other islands, and I hope that they can also get some inspiration from what you’re doing here and see how they can apply it in their territories.”
Haskoning, a Dutch consultancy firm specializing in sustainable solutions for the built environment, infrastructure, and industry, has been contracted to carry out the project works.
Explaining the field work phase of the project, water research expert at Haskoning, JJ said, “what we’ll do in this project is look into the geology aspect, the climate aspects, and try to get an understanding of how the water gets to the springs and what that means for water quantity and water quality … and once we have a proper understanding of the system, then we’ll work towards a document that will support the rehabilitation of all the springs.”
The €17.8 million Green Overseas “GO” Programme, funded by the European Union (EU) and implemented by Expertise France, aims to contribute to the sustainable, resilient, and inclusive development of the EU overseas countries and territories (OCTs) and United Kingdom (UK) overseas territories (OTs).