Gonzales: No good reason for inadequate water supply

Public Utilities Minister Marvin Gonzales has said it is up to politicians to ensure that solutions are effected at the Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA), as they have contributed significantly to the state of the entity.

He said the transformation of the authority will be the subject of his unrelenting gaze.

Speaking at the opening of the three-day Integrated Water Resources Coastal Symposium at the Radisson Hotel in Port of Spain, Gonzales said the data gathered would contribute to the blueprint for an integrated water-management programme for the long-term sustainability of the citizens of TT, which he had spoken about in Parliament.

“For too long we have operated in silos. Our ministries have often operated largely independent of each other and even departments and agencies within ministries have operated as little fiefdoms, with their own heads behaving as lords and masters of all they surveyed, to the detriment and disadvantage of the national citizenry.

"This has resulted in a fragmented approach to the provision of simple, consistent and reliable services, whereas a whole of government approach would have accomplished quite the opposite.”

He said there is no good reason why the problems at WASA have not been resolved after $25 billion of financial support from the state after the last ten years, and if WASA is to be fixed, the time is now.

There is no doubt, he admitted, that particular communities in TT continue to be disproportionately affected by water issues related to access and quality. He said it is incumbent upon a responsible government to ask why and what action can be taken to address the disparities.

“There can be no doubt that the provision of a safe and reliable supply of water and wastewater management services to citizens is a national priority.

"However, the unvarnished truth is that for a very long time, the nation’s supply of water has been neither safe nor reliable. In a water-rich island nation as ours, with a dry season and a wet season, there is no good reason why approximately two-thirds of this island’s population is still without a consistently reliable daily water supply.”

Gonzales said an integrated approach to water conservation, water management, and wastewater management could only redound to the greater good of the national community.

“I firmly believe that if we are able to align WASA with the value chain inherent in water management, the opportunity to increase its operational efficiency and achieve sustainability in water-resource management will no longer be an elusive dream.

"There is no getting around the need to delink the regulator agency from the regulated entity, if efficiency is to be achieved. An understanding of this value chain leads to the inescapable conclusion that there are roles to be played by an independent wastewater management system and an equally independent water resources agency, both properly resourced to operate in the 21st century.”

He said TT is a water-rich nation, according to hydrological studies, with many aquifers yet to be tapped. With laser-focused concentration on water-harvesting and the combination of improved infrastructure and a proper distribution, a serious dent could be made in “the corruption-laden practice of water-trucking.”

Gonzales said greater collaboration between his ministry and that of Works and Transport would be needed in contending with climate change, and questioned whether the ministries should also be partnering with the EMA, the Education Ministry and others to educate the population about their civic responsibility in preventing pollution.