Kristen Gyles | More on water desalination

A few weeks ago, the Consul General of The Bahamas visited Jamaica to support the hurricane relief efforts. The military team which accompanied her did something that was very eye opening.

While people across western parishes were relying on trucked water from the east, and while some less privileged persons were using water from contaminated wells, the Bahamian team quickly came into the island and set up a desalination plant that was able to churn out 1,000 gallons of water per hour through 10 standpipes that anyone could catch water from.

Desalination makes use of sea and ocean water which accounts for over 97 per cent of the earth’s water. It produces potable water that is fresh and clean enough for drinking. No, sea water is neither fresh nor clean. However, through the process of reverse osmosis, salt and other impurities can be removed from the sea water making the water both fresh and clean. Reverse osmosis is simply a process by which the salty, unclean water is forced at high pressure through a membrane that allows the water to pass through without the larger salt crystals and other impurities. There are other methods by which water can be desalinated but reverse osmosis is considered to be the most energy efficient way. In other words, it is the cheapest and most eco-friendly way to go about it.

Because seawater is available in abundance, desalination is a drought-proof solution to water shortage. Across the Caribbean, countries have been showing increasing interest in water desalination for the simple reason that sea water is limitless. As climate change intensifies, rainfall becomes an increasingly uncertain and unpredictable source of water. Furthermore, if the water catchment infrastructure in place is so small that it can’t support long-term storage, then water is as good as gone by the time it is harvested, and there will be a heavy reliance on continuous rainfall.

REPLICABLE

The technology used by the Bahamian defence team is replicable. We know it is replicable because it is what is used almost exclusively in the Bahamas to supply water to its citizenry. The Bahamas has a thriving water desalination system that supplies 90 percent of the country’s potable water. The Blue Hills desalination plant is one of the largest seawater reverse osmosis desalination plants in the Caribbean and has the capacity to produce 12 million gallons of clean water per day. However, because the plant is diesel-powered, it is expensive to operate. The country is now turning to solar energy to power desalination plants, which requires roughly 70 per cent less energy than conventional methods. So, the country has found a way to produce clean, potable water without breaking the bank.

Water desalination is also what is primarily used in the Cayman Islands, British Virgin Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands and other regional neighbours with booming economies. Frankly, it is no wonder. Water scarcity significantly impedes economic growth and human development, in more ways than one.

Does Jamaica have a water shortage problem? No. We are sitting in the Caribbean Sea, so we are surrounded by water. We also have countless rivers, streams, aquifers and other natural water sources, so, there is no actual shortage of water.

Does Jamaica have a water storage problem? Yes. Almost every year, we are put through water lock-offs on the basis that levels in our water reservoirs are low. To conserve the low levels of water, the NWC rations the water so that the water reservoirs don’t run out.

Does Jamaica have a water distribution problem? Also, yes. Even when we have water stored in abundance, some communities have dry pipes, because there is a challenge moving water from where it is, to where it is not.

STORAGE AND DISTRIBUTION

So, Jamaica’s water shortage is not actually a shortage but more of a storage and distribution problem.

We can address the storage problem through desalination. Although our dams are small, they should never be anywhere near empty, and they don’t have to be. Rather than relying on water from rainfall to replenish our dams, water desalination can at least be used to supplement our national water supply.

And yes, the dams are small. For context, the Mona Reservoir has been the main supply of water for people living in the corporate area. The problem is that the Mona Reservoir was built in the 1940s when Jamaica’s population was half what it is now.

Of course, this is not to say that our water supply has remained exactly the same. The current government and previous administrations have tried their hands at setting up various pools and puddles of water throughout the island to aid with water harvesting. I can only refer to them as ‘pools and puddles’ because in the grand scheme of things they are nowhere near large enough to address the extent of the national water shortage that we face every year.

But while we try to increase our water storage capacity, we can do a better job of keeping our (small) dams filled, because, again, we are surrounded by water. Jamaicans should never languish for lack of water. We should embrace water desalination because it works and because for decades we have struggled with sustainable water harvesting. As Caribbean islands, we face similar risks, dangers and problems. We can therefore benefit from similar solutions. Let us learn from each other.

Kristen Gyles is a free-thinking public affairs opinionator. Send feedback to kristengyles@gmail.com and columns@gleanerjm.com