ENVIRONMENT SPOTLIGHT
Beneath the
Caribbean Sea,
a Wastewater
Problem Lurks
Unnoticed
www.wri.org
by Erin Gray
The Caribbean has long been
hailed as a vacationer’s paradise,
with its coral reefs, bioluminescent
bays, white sand beaches and
rainforests. Yet there’s a problem
lurking beneath the sparkling sea—
untreated wastewater.
Only 15 percent of wastewater
entering the Caribbean Sea is
currently being treated, and only 17
percent of Caribbean households
are connected to acceptable
collection and treatment systems.
The majority of the region’s
wastewater spews right into the
sea, bringing with it pollutants
like nutrients, fecal matter, toxins,
pharmaceuticals, oil and more.
Part of the reason Caribbean
governments have not addressed
the wastewater issue is because
they lack data on how wastewater
pollution is impacting ecosystems
and human health, or what realistic
solutions exist.
That’s why World Resources
Institute (WRI) worked with the
Caribbean Regional Fund for
Wastewater Management (GEF
CReW) Project to improve the
region’s understanding of the
wastewater issue and provide
a resource to assist countries
in making a stronger case for
investments in wastewater
treatment.
Digging Deeper into the
Caribbean’s Wastewater
Problem
Working with GEF CReW partners
(the Global Environment Facility,
UN Environment Programme and
Inter-American Development Bank)
and the governments of Trinidad
and Tobago and Panama, WRI
developed an economic valuation
resource guide and piloted it in
three sites: Chaguanas, Trinidad;
Southwest Tobago; and Isla Colon,
Panama. The guide is intended
to help policymakers and other
officials examine the trade-
offs of the costs of investing in
improved wastewater management
infrastructure and maintenance
with the benefits to ecosystems
and human health. Our findings
underscore the direness of the
wastewater problem.
Only 12-15 percent of the
population in Southwest Tobago
and Chaguanas is connected to a
centralized wastewater treatment
52 SL-YOU | Business, People & Lifestyle
facility, and about 80 percent in Isla
Colon. The remaining population
uses on-site wastewater treatment
like septic tanks and pit latrines.
However, untreated wastewater
is frequently released in all three
sites due to poorly maintained
and outdated infrastructure
and unplanned (and oftentimes
unauthorized) development.
Wastewater pollution is degrading
ecosystems for areas critical for
ecotourism and creating negative
human health impacts. While
the full extent of the damage is
unknown due to lack of data, we
found concerning problems in
all three study sites. Isla Colon’s
wastewater treatment plant is
located adjacent to indigenous
peoples’ informal settlements.
During periods of high rainfall,
untreated wastewater and
the pollutants it contains are
released directly into these areas.
Wastewater pollution is also
degrading the Buccoo Reef, the
Nylon Pool and the Caroni Swamp,
popular sites for swimming,
snorkeling, boating and fishing
in Trinidad and Tobago. Health
problems linked with wastewater
pollution in Panama and Trinidad
and Tobago include gastroenteritis
and ear and eye infections.
www.slyoumag.com | July-August 2019