By Alecia Daniel-Blake

Above the Aquifer Looking at Basseterre

In the not too distant past, there had been much “water talk.” Residents were encouraged to conserve water because of the recent drought which was gripping St. Kitts and Nevis and the Eastern Caribbean. World Water Day, celebrated March 22, acknowledged the importance of clean water. As a matter of a fact, in her message, UNESCO’s Director General Irina Bokova stated that two and an half billion of the world’s people continue to live without proper sanitation and that 884 million have no access to safe drinking water.

Yet, St. Kitts and Nevis can indeed consider itself blessed, particularly when it comes to water! Our Federation was among the first to get a reprieve from the recent drought, and as far back as anyone can remember, residents have enjoyed the pleasure of pure, refreshing, clean water.

Interestingly, in addition to having access to surface water, from rain and rivers which has been captured in reservoirs, St. Kitts in particular, has the added advantage of aquifers that have been an excellent supply of potable water. The Basseterre Valley Aquifer, in particular, has become a precious element in the local water supply network. As climate change continues to alter the world’s previously anticipated weather patterns, it becomes even more critical to preserve fresh water resources such as the Basseterre Valley Aquifer.

So what exactly is an aquifer? Many locals refer to it simply as a water table. According to the Oxford Canadian Dictionary an aquifer is “a layer of permeable rock able to store significant quantities of water, through which groundwater moves.” In other words, the underground rocks are such that water can move through them in a specific direction.

To place everything into context, the exact proximity also needs to be established. The aquifer in question, is located in the basin between the Olivees Mountain, to the southwest, Canada Hills to the northeast and Conaree Hills to the east and covers an area of approximately eight square miles and widens to the southeast as it flows south and empties into the Caribbean Sea at Basseterre.

The importance of the Basseterre Valley Aquifer is brought to the fore by the fact that it provides 60 percent, approximately 2.5 million gallons of water needed for the daily consumption of residents of Basseterre. This translates to a whopping 40 percent of the total water supply for the island of St. Kitts.

Despite the area’s importance, certain indiscriminate actions such as agricultural pollution, inadequate management and control of water extraction and inadequate protection of the Valley area and its ecosystem function, began taking place over the years. Not desiring to see its valued potable water source become contaminated, the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis decided to step in.

In 2002 the Basseterre Valley Advisory Committee was appointed through the Office of the Prime Minister to examine the feasibility of establishing a National Park on the site. The underlying thought being that the sanctity, safety and sustainability of the Aquifer would be maintained with the expectation that the Park serve as a green area and a buffer from external contaminants. The incorporation of the various economic sectors including tourism and its potential for financial profitability was just the beginning of much promise. Hence, the name of the initiative became the Rehabilitation and Management of the Basseterre Valley as a Protection Measure for the Underlying Aquifer.

In 2006 a Memorandum of Agreement was signed between the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis (GOSKN) and UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS) to engage the services of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) under the Integrating Watershed and Coastal Areas Management Project (IWCAM). Hence, GEF-IWCAM became the chief financer of the Basseterre Valley Aquifer Project, willing to provide up to US$530,740 while the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis agreed to co-finance in the sum of US$217,380. The budget also includes an ‘in-kind’ contribution of US$22,145,000 from the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis.

The purpose of the project is to demonstrate the proper management and protection of the Basseterre Valley Aquifer in three main areas.

1. Mitigation of threats from contaminants,
2. Protection of the aquifer, well field and supportive ecosystem
3. Improvement to the user resource management interface

The next article will focus on the findings of a hydrogeological survey which is basically an underground survey of the area, as well as a proposal for a national park complete with proposed legislation, operational financing and structures.

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