Water Crisis! What Water Crisis?

Transcription

1 Water Crisis! What Water Crisis? Debate jointly organised by the Institution of Engineers Mauritius & University of Mauritius In the Octave Wiehe auditorium, UoM

2 No Country in the world that receives over 2000 mm of rainfall per year should ever be short of water

3 So why is it in Mauritius, every year the authorities responsible for the Water Sector resorts to water rationing and water cuts? Are the authorities incompetent? Don t think so. Do the authorities not care? Isn t water supply a national priority?

4 In today s debate, we shall present you with factual information and we shall demonstrate that there is a lack of seriousness and will to manage water resources sustainably. If things and attitude don t change very soon, the water situation will be disastrous for the Sustainable Development of Mauritius, in the medium and long term.

5 We shall also raise a series of queries during the presentation and we would require clear unambiguous responses and commitment from the authorities We shall also show that the solutions to supply Mauritius with adequate 24/7 water is available

6 The CWA Act of 1971 at part II section 4 defines clearly the responsibility of CWA i.e. The Authority shall be responsible for the control, development and conservation of water resources. It could not be any clearer that CWA is responsible for protection, harnessing, storage, treatment and distribution of water in the Republic of Mauritius

7 At Part IV of the CWA Act, the duties of CWA are further explicitly defined which covers a wide range of activities from investigating water resources; to preparing plans for conservation, utilisation and control and development of water resources, to preparing plans for the development of water basins and trans river basins, coordinate and investigate on the economic use of water. At section 21 of Part IV, of the Act, CWA should construct dams, reservoirs, drainage canals. It even has the responsibility to stock reservoirs and water courses with fish!

8 Yet, CWA, through its board of directors, receive its directives from the Parent Ministry, with regard to GOM policies, strategies and priorities. It seems that since the setting up of the WRU, CWA is reduced to supplying water to consumers only. Water Resources Unit in the Ministry is the policy making unit on water matters. Therefore, What is the role and responsibility of the Water Resources Unit? What are its legal responsibilities? Who is responsible for water shortage in Mauritius? Is there a clear legal demarcation of responsibilities between CWA and the WRU? If so, under which ACT?

9 What are the Mauritius National Policies for harnessing of water, its management and distribution? The Draft National Water Policy elaborated in 2010, enumerates the guiding principles: Water shall be considered as an economic good, which supports national economic integration and development and shall be conserved, developed and managed to provide economic benefits. As such, water should be used efficiently, with pricing policy and other mechanisms to encourage water allocation to higher value uses in order to maximise its net economic and social benefits. Water shall be considered as a social good that is essential to human dignity and social well-being. There should be explicit recognition that the poor should have access to water at an affordable price. Water allocation between sectors and users shall consider, among other things, the economic benefits balanced with social obligation and environment requirements. Due regard should be given to social development and food security.

10 Government will promote measures to increase water use efficiency in agriculture. To ensure that provision of sanitation services is integrated into the provision of water supply for basic human needs Measures should be put in place to ensure that water is used in a sustainable manner, which also includes allocations set aside for environment maintenance purposes to safeguard the future existence of aquatic ecosystems. All new water mobilization infrastructure needs to be designed/phased with a view to be able to adapt to the impact of climate change on the availability of the island s water resources. The water policy emphasizes that to solve the emerging problems in relation to the water resources, the supply side as well as the demand side will have to be managed more carefully than at present. So what has changed since 2010 up to now in 2014?

11 In view of the huge change in the agricultural sector in terms of reduction in areas in cane plantation, etc, is there more water available for distribution for other uses?

12 Use of treated wastewater for non-potable purposes The state of the art WWTP at St. Martin, commissioned in 2005 It has a design capacity of 69,000 m 3 per day and an average of 40,000 m 3 is being treated daily. The treated water, which undergoes sand filtering as well as UV disinfection, meets all the specifications of the EU Directive for irrigation purposes. Unfortunately, most of the treated water has been diverted to the sea for a long time. The Montagne Jacquot WWTP has a capacity of 30,000 m 3 d- 1 and provides primary treatment with chlorine disinfection for the effluent. There is a definite potential, for feasible investment and sustainability, to upgrade this plant for tertiary treatment Hence, a potential of 70,000m 3 per day is available, representing probably 20% of treated water daily output of the CWA plants actually reaching the consumers, for non-potable use. The water that can thus be saved from La Ferme reservoir can be made available for potable use, after installation of a treatment plant.

13 Should not Mauritius be revisiting the issue of Water Rights? In the context of rationalization of water rights, an exercise was launched in 2013 to consolidate data on water rights holders. Very few holders of water rights have come forward.(wru) How much more water can be made available from the Land Owners holding Water Rights? 1 Million cubic metre / day (guess) (apparently not much?) However, this is twice the volume of water being produced by CWA daily. (WRU is in a better position to clarify)

14 What has been the long term rainfall trend in Mauritius for the last 50 years and what has been the demand trend over the same period? An 8% reduction in rainfall has been noted from 1905 to The following table depicts the variations in long term rainfall pattern over Mauritius Period Mean Variance from long term mean Period Mean Variance from long term mean % % % _-0.9% % % Long Term Mean On the other hand, the demand (potable water) has been rising by an average of 2 % annually.

15 Questions? What is the projected rainfall for next 50 years and What is the related water demand? Projected rainfall next 50 years: At the southern Indian Ocean level, the following preliminary projection has been made based on IPCC model simulations: Decreasing trend of 8% in annual rainfall.

16 The starting point for the demand forecast is a deficiency of around 66 Mm 3 in the capacity to mobilize enough raw water. Water demand projections indicate an incremental increase in the water requirements for the whole island of about 124 Mm 3 during the period up to Hence, the total water mobilization requirement by the end of the planning horizon is 190 M m 3 (refer to Master Plan for Development of the Water Resources in Mauritius by NIRAS/Mega Design)

17 What are the major constraints in harnessing rainfall for replenishing surface reservoirs and recharging aquifers? Further decrease in annual rainfall leading to reduction in freshwater availability Decrease in groundwater recharge and decline in groundwater level resulting in reduction of borehole yields, also accentuated by sea water intrusion in coastal aquifers due to sea level rise (impact of climate change). Increase in the rate of evaporation and evapo-transpiration specifically during the dry season Decreasing base flow in streams and rivers Urbanisation within the catchment of aquifer recharge

18 What are the reasons?? Water Crisis! What Water Crisis? Are our watersheds protected and managed? If not? Why not? What are the constraints? There is no legal framework in place for preservation of our watersheds. No clear demarcation of responsibilities between the different stakeholders. However, reading the CWA Act 1971 part II section 4, it is the CWA. Yet, this role seems to have been taken away by the Ministry. What are the proposals for developing a policy / watershed management plan? (i) What is the national strategy for water harnessing and management? what is the strategic plan of WRU?

19 Master Plans prepared since 1990s? Master Plan Study on Water Resources of Mauritius-French Cooperation (1991) Master Plan for Development of a Sustainable Potable Water Supply in Mauritius-GIBBs (2007) Master Plan for Development of the Water Resources in Mauritius NIRAS/Mega Design) 2012

20 Why have not these Master Plans been implemented? No holistic approach and directive from Government towards implementation of the Action Plan The Master Plans have been considered and implemented to certain extents, on a piece meal basis. Reasons evoked have been funding constraints and lack of inhouse capacity, GOM approach is to prioritise and implement only important ones. It is, however, to be acknowledged that like most government agencies, the CWA is engaged in fire fighting most of the time and considerable funds and energy are diverted to these activities.

21 Constraints in their implementation? Questions that need answer: Is it really due to financial constraints? Or due to lack of appreciation in the urgency to plan and implement in view of impending huge variability in weather to come. Another explanation is lack of government commitment /will towards implementation of the plan. Is there another ulterior motive?.

22 What are the Authorities priorities in the Water Sector? The upcoming Water Sector Reforms involving integration of CWA, WMA and Irrigation Authority into a single Water Authority, in line with the concept of Integrated Water Resources Management which has been in the pipeline for a long time. Apparently this merger will allow a more holistic approach to be adopted in addressing water sector issues and will bring more synergy to the sector. Tackling the problem of NON REVENUE WATER (NRW), which is a major source of concern as it results in losses of the precious resource, which is translated into monetary losses for CWA? A reduction of NRW project is underway in MAV (Upper) Zone, with technical input from a team of Singaporean experts. There was such a Unit in CWA and this was done by Mauritians in the 80 s but was stopped because CWA could not afford to pay overtime!!

23 Water balance between water produced and entering the system against water sold? Has this ever being undertaken by the CWA? If so, what is the finding? The figure given is 50% NRW

24 What are the national plans, if any for this sector, with regard to Climate Change? At national level, a National Climate Change Adaptation Policy Framework has been prepared by the M/Environment. The policy framework explicitly recognizes that water supply by 2030 may not be sufficient to satisfy projected demand. The main objective of the document is to integrate and mainstream climate change adaptation into core development policies/strategies and plans of the Republic of Mauritius. HOW? And WHO IS leading this? Is it only a cosmetic exercise on paper?

25 Examples of Sectoral Strategy and Action Plan It consists of set of Strategies and Action plan E.g. Fully develop the potential of integrated water management Develop hydrological models. Who will do this?? Identify strategies that can improve the co-ordination of local groundwater storage with local surface storage and other options Promote the use of wastewater for agricultural needs. Nice on paper but who will be implementing them and where is the funding from?

26 The Climate Change Unit under aegis of Ministry of Environment and SD is active in researching and publishing results as part of international collaboration under the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). (You may browse the website or contact the Ministry for up-to date precise reports and results) Furthermore, the Mauritius Meteorological Services has over the past few years increased its ability to systematically monitor climate change parameters and has brought to light various trends of importance in assessing future impacts on water resource availability. (Meteorological services in better position to provide info)

27 Policies on water harvesting at household level Necessary incentive scheme needs to be devised along the lines of the Water Tank Grant scheme. The MID Commission, through its Green Economy Action Plan, is proposing to facilitate the implementation of rainwater harvesting systems for 10,000 families How about sinking rainwater run-offs into sub-surface reservoirs /aquifers? Construction of structures in water catchment areas are depriving the aquifers much needed water for the recharging purposes. At the same time, the increased surface run-offs are causing over flowing of drains and flooding to properties and homes. Provision of sink holes to divert this excess surface water in certain areas could help recharge the aquifers. It is a fact that when aquifers are over pumped, the water tables are lowered and consequently, there is a negative cascading effects such as deprivation of water in the root zones for the cultivation of sugar cane with the inevitable consequences of lower productivity.

28 Should we challenge ourselves on the way we use treated and piped water? Should treated water be used for industrial and irrigation purposes? Is desalination of sea water an option? What is the cost per metre cube? What is the resulting impact of the concentrates from desalination plant returning to sea? Has any study been done to assess this? This is an area where Mauritius through MRC and the UoM should undertake research before the Authorities deciding on a policy to go for desalination plant.

29 CONCLUSION It is seen that Mauritius receives enough rainfall (over 2000 mm/year) to cater for the national demand. On the other hand, demand for potable and industrial use has gone up by an average of 2% a year while the trend in rainfall is down by approximately the same percentage. Therefore the need to plan for capturing more rainfall through strategically placed surface reservoirs, as advocated by the numerous master plans MUST be implemented in the short rather than in the medium terms. Innovative technologies for recharging the aquifers must be developed, as a matter of urgency

30 Water Crisis! What Water Crisis? Conclusion. In view of the predicted exacerbated Climate Change driven uncertainties, the authorities should give the highest of priorities to securing water availability for its sustained development in the key sectors such as the social, economic, for ensuring agricultural productivities and food security There should be no Water Crisis in Mauritius if the Authorities implement the recommendations of the various master plans. The technical / engineering solutions are available and there are enough Mauritian Engineers with experience in this sector to make water shortage a thing of the past