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Global Water Partnership-Caribbean (GWP-C) in its continued efforts to support Caribbean countries in the sustainable management of their water resources has created a Rainwater Harvesting (RWH) model targeting water-scarce communities.
There are many poor rural communities throughout the region that are forced to live without a regular supply of water to satisfy their very basic needs. Persons from these communities are often forced to get water from nearby rivers, standpipes or by paying for water that is delivered by trucks. In view of this, GWP-C believed that rainwater harvesting which involves the capturing and storing of rainwater for reuse would be a feasible alternative source of water for such communities. Water could then be collected for drinking, livestock, and irrigation, among other uses.
In partnership with the Council for Science and Technology (CCST), GWP-C applied for and received a grant from the Perez-Guerrero Trust Fund (PGTTF) to finance the RWH project. GWP-C then contracted the Caribbean Environmental Health Institute (CEHI) in 2009 to design and create a fully functional RWH model that could be adopted by water-scarce communities in the Caribbean.
In addition to CEHI constructing a portable RWH system specially designed to minimise contamination and enhance the quality of captured and stored rainwater, the other output of the contract includes the development of a regional toolbox on rainwater harvesting, to be used as an educational resource in promoting awareness of rainwater harvesting, namely in water stricken areas throughout the region. The toolbox contains useful information on RWH including reference documents on RWH in the Caribbean and public awareness information. The toolbox will be distributed and promoted to GWP-C partners and made available through the GWP-C website.
The model’s first public demonstration was made at the Caribbean Water and Wastewater Association’s (CWWA’s) annual Conference and Exhibition held in Grenada on October 3rd-8th, 2010, where the model’s display copped the award for best booth at the Conference.
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The model provides a very real example of how an actual rainwater harvesting system would operate as it is designed to allow water to be introduced to the system and persons can therefore have a live demonstration on how the system works. The model also includes interpretive information panels and pockets for toolkits that contain posters, leaflets, brochures, technical documents, handbooks among other material on rainwater harvesting.
The use of a rainwater harvesting system of this kind can help relieve the strain on water resources in communities in the region which have very little access to water. It presents a practical option for increased independence and water security in such areas and can help in lowering water supply cost.
GWP-C through collaboration with its partners and strategic allies plans to actively work on getting water stricken communities in the Caribbean to adopt the model. Moreover, by using the RWH model and toolbox, GWP-C aims to encourage greater awareness on rainwater harvesting and the benefits of its use.
In order to achieve this, some of GWP-C’s upcoming plans include collaborating with the National Water and Sewerage Authority (NAWASA) of Grenada to install the RWH model on a public building in Carriacou to assess the model’s efficiency; filming and recording demonstrations of the project throughout the region; partnering with private sector organisations to assist with creating replicas of the model; and taking the model throughout the region to promote rainwater harvesting. GWP-C also plans to apply the model within the agriculture sector and display the model at a national science fair in Trinidad and Tobago which will be put on by its partner, the National Institute of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology (NIHERST) in April 2011.
Updated: November 2010
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