UIEA/SusGren launch water tank project in Union Island

Last week Thursday, Union Island Environmental Attackers (UIEA), in collaboration with Sustainable Grenadines (SusGren), launched its water tank project entitled “Increasing Water Storage Capacity on Union Island:{{more}} Adapting to the Effects of Drought”. This took place at the hard court in Ashton.

The project aims to provide 100 residents on Union Island with 1,000 gallon water tanks. These needed water tanks will assist households to store water for a longer time during frequent drought periods. These water tanks will increase the island’s water storage capacity by 100,000 gallons. A release said UIEA, along with SusGren, has been “diligently seeking funding for this project a few years now and is thrilled to finally be able to help the community with this very critical development”.

“Residents on Union Island who have damaged or leaking tanks and those households which do not have water tanks will be the first to benefit from this project”, said Katrina Collins, the president of the UIEA.

“An increased water storage capacity on Union Island will contribute to better health and safety conditions for residents, in particular those living in low income households,” Collins added.

“There are currently several problems that limit water availability on Union Island: the average annual rainfall of Union Island is relatively low at 1,000 mm and the small size of the island limits the geographic influences that tend to generate greater precipitation. There is also the challenge of inadequate storage capacity to maintain the required water supply, especially during prolonged drought conditions, caused by climate change. If water shortages and conditions of storage were to worsen, these can lead to some serious issues related to health, sanitation and vector control. Therefore, this project is of grave importance to the people of Union Island, because it is critical that the rain we do get, goes into as many tanks as possible and that these tanks remain fully functional without leaks or cracks and are well maintained.

“This project is about improving the lives of the people on Union Island and its environment by providing an adequate water storage facility with clean water supply,” explained Collins.

More than fifty people attended the meeting on Thursday evening. The project is being funded by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), under its “Canada Caribbean Disaster Risk Management Fund”, to the tune of over two hundred thousand dollars.

For more information, contact the Union Island Environmental Attackers at 496-0736 or Sustainable Grenadines Inc at 485-8779.