1. Addressing
the State of
Potable
Water
Shortages in
Saint Lucia
Elise M. Myers

2. Saint Lucia
www.worldatlas.com

3. Saint Lucia’s Water Needs
• Increased development
water supply not
meeting demand
• Prediction: doubled
shortfall by 2025
• More consistent chronic
and sever water
shortages
• Low quality water
(bacteria and silt ridden)
www.worldatlas.com

4. Previous Project
• Research with Professor
Dale Morgan to find
aquifers
– Resistivity
– Self-polarization
• Ministry project with
goal of more water
• Discussion with Ministry
about other ways to
address the problem

5. Caribbean Environmental Health
Institute
• Developed to address
environmental concerns
and regional
development
• Environmental health
mandate
• Goal Summer 2012:
create a system of
standards for different
business types to
become law in all
Caribbean nations
www.oas.org

6. Observed Locations
• Hotels
• Schools
• Marinas
• Paint Manufacturers
• Garages
• Pig Farms

7. Special Considerations
• Lay-out of sewage and waste water systems
• Proximity to bodies of water (rivers, lakes, etc.)
• Type of chemicals used
• Storage of chemicals and other harmful products
• Physical set-up (runoff vs. percolation)
• Contributions from up-stream enterprises
• Regular maintenance

8. Key Problems
• Improper disposal
• Oily rags, leaky oil barrels, aerosol cans, paint
chippings, kitchen grease, septic drippings

9. Dangerous Runoff
Paint chippings in particular can cause many problems.
Even upstanding companies can have dangerous amounts
of paint in their drains.

10. Improper Storage

11. Unsanitary Privatized Water Treatment

12. Unmonitored Water Streams

13. Requirements in the Standards
• Trenches to contain oil
drippings
• Containment walls
around drains
• Multi-step septic
treatment tanks
• Permeable pavement
replacements
• Waste removal (away
from bodies of water)

14. Current Progress
• The standards have
been passed through St.
Lucia Bureau of
Standards
• Currently under review
in CARICOM to enforce
these standards in all
member states
• Wastewater specialists
from the US have drawn
up plans to distribute
www.slbs.org.lc

15. End Goal
Soon, we should have a set of laws to protect
the environment and better the current water
quality in Saint Lucia.
The solution shouldn’t be finding more water,
but improving the quality of the water they
have.

16. Thank You to
Tau Beta Pi for the Grant!