WASHINGTON, May 20, CMC – The World Bank Wednesday said it has approved a muti-million dollar Barbados Water Security and Sector Performance Programme that will strengthen water security on the island, while also helping to reduce water losses, expand sanitation services and protect livelihoods which depend on reliable water services.
“By improving how the utility operates, expanding sanitation, and strengthening water governance, this programme directly supports economic growth and resilience in Barbados. Over the lifetime of the project the program is expected to generate and protect up to 58,000 jobs,” said Lilia Burunciuc, World Bank Director for the Caribbean.
The Washington-based financial institution said that Barbados is one of the most water-scarce countries in the world and that the island relies on groundwater for 86 per cent of its water supply.
It said Barbados is already extracting nearly as much groundwater as can be safely removed each year without causing permanent damage to its reserves, while water demand is projected to grow by 30 per cent by 2050.
The Barbados Water Authority (BWA), which will implement the project over a five-year period, currently loses about 50 per cent of all water produced before it reaches consumers, through leaking pipes, inaccurate meters, and billing gaps. Approximately 80 per cent of the island’s land area is vulnerable to groundwater contamination from poorly managed sewage disposal. Untreated waste reaching coastal waters impacts marine ecosystems which tourism and jobs depend on.
The World Bank said that the US$54.7 million programme addresses these challenges across three areas, with the first focusing on modernizing the BWA’s operations, deploying a private sector partner to work alongside utility staff, improving billing and metering systems, reducing pipe losses, and increasing revenues.
The second expands sanitation services, supporting 2,000 new household sewage connections and introducing regulations for the safe collection and treatment of waste, while the third strengthens governance, establishing a national groundwater monitoring system and a high-level coordination body linking water management to agriculture, energy, and climate planning.
The Barbados programme is phase one of the Caribbean Regional Water Security Programme, a regional initiative also covering Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, and St. Lucia. The programme comprises a US$4.7 million grant from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) Surplus-Funded Livable Planet Fund and US$50 million in financing from IBRD.
The programme uses a Program-for-Results approach, in which financing is released only when specific, independently verified results are achieved, including reduced water losses, improved customer service, and completed regulatory reforms.
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