A major project aimed at strengthening Montserrat’s water supply system is now underway.
The 12-month initiative, 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 Montserrat Utilities Limited (MUL), with funding from the Green Overseas Territories Programme.
The project will focus on the rehabilitation of Lawyer’s Spring and the introduction of a pilot water-monitoring system, as part of Government’s wider commitment to sustainable development and climate resilience.
Director of Energy and project focal point Marissa Allen said the island’s water system has been facing increasing pressures.
She said it had become clear that the infrastructure is ageing, and that the issue needed to be addressed “sooner rather than later.”
Regional Coordinator for the Caribbean at the Green Overseas Programme, Lina Tode, said the initiative could serve as a regional model.
“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,” she said. “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.”
Dutch consultancy firm Haskoning has been contracted to carry out the project works.
Explaining the fieldwork phase, water research expert JJ said the team will examine geological and climate factors to better understand how water reaches the island’s springs.
“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,” he said. “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 project objectives include producing a technical needs assessment and design document for rehabilitating drinking water infrastructure, implementing a pilot rehabilitation project, and establishing a long-term monitoring and maintenance plan to ensure a climate-resilient water supply.
Montserrat’s public water supply is produced naturally from six springs: Killikrankie, Lawyer’s, Quashie, Hope, Olveston and Fogarthy. MUL operates 13 reservoirs, with a combined storage capacity of approximately 1.79 million gallons of water for public consumption.
The Green Overseas “GO” Programme is valued at €17.8 million and is funded by the European Union and implemented by Expertise France. It supports sustainable, resilient and inclusive development across EU overseas countries and territories and UK overseas territories.
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