The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

Caribbean water operators began the 23rd annual Caribbean Water and Waste Water Association (CWWA) conference yesterday examining best practices across the region in risk management and natural disaster responses.

Speaking with Tribune Business, Jose Luis Martin Bordes, the programme officer for Global Water Operators’ Partnerships Alliance (GWOPA), said the organisation had for the past two years been working with the two major water associations in the Caribbean to improve utility development.

“We believe that it was necessary to frame the transfer of knowledge between  water operators, and one of the priority areas we had identified was risk management and natural disasters in affecting water operators in the Caribbean,” Mr Bordes said.

“We decided to organise a workshop to look at best practices  and experiences  of water operators. We are looking at case studies on best practices about how water operators are coping with risk and the challenges posed by natural disaster, earthquakes, hurricanes, storms and related natural hazards.

“The objective of the workshop is the trade of knowledge on how to deal with problems, but most importantly we are trying to set up partnerships between water operators so they can help each other and initiate programs of partnerships. We hope that this workshop will also help each other know each other better and to improve their efficiency and capacity.”

Mr Bordes said water operators have to work with government policymakers on hat risk management and natural disasters.  “Some of the interventions have to do with disaster preparedness or disaster reaction. They have to do with political decisions,” he added.

“This is a very important issue.  We need more policy supporting the technical aspects, and more technical information informing the policy level to make the right investment.

“The other issue is that we need to communicate with the population, so water operators should also have a  responsibility to communicate about how the water systems have to be operated and how the population has to also get involved in the management of the water systems, so they can know when the problem will happen and what will be the consequences.”