Gonzales: Water Resource Management Office to be set up

PUBLIC Utilities Minister Marvin Gonzales has said that to aid in ensuring the sustainability of the water sector, a new office called the Office of Water Resource Management will be established. Because of this, he said, the functions of the water resource agency in the Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) would have to be legally removed.

He was speaking at a press conference at the ministry in Port of Spain on Wednesday morning.

He said as water patterns become "more volatile and unpredictable," there is great need for the national integrated water resource management policy recently approved by Cabinet.

The document on the ministry's website says it sought to manage water resources "to provide not only a reliable water supply to meet present demands of all but to ensure sustainability of supply and the available water resources of the country to meet the needs of future generations.”

Gonzales said it provides a "holistic and integrated framework" for promoting co-ordination and sustainable development of the country's water resources.

He said the new office will manage surface, ground- and near-shore coastal waters for regulating water abstraction and use, establish minimum stream flows and advise on measures to protect and conserve land use for for aquifer recharge, watershed protection and environmental needs.

He added that since one of the office's main functions will be monitoring and assessing meteorological and climate conditions to assist with planning and decision-making, the Met Office will work closely with it. Responsibilities will be assigned to "various government ministries, departments, state agencies, tertiary-level institutions and NGOs."

As for a physical location, he said said within this fiscal year, the office will be built north of the Piarco International Airport's north terminal.

Other projects the ministry is working on, he said, include procuring a geostationary operational environmental satellite receiving system.

"Once installed, (it) would improve the reliability and accuracy of the meteorological information received and disseminated by the Met Office."

In addition, the radar tower at Brasso Venado will be refurbished.

He said government aims to transform the entire water sector.