INFORME ANALÍTICO

ÍNDICE

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1    Evaluation 2000
1.2    Water and Sanitation Sector
1.3    Administrative Areas

2. PRELIMINARIES

2.1    General Characteristics
2.2    Natural Resources
2.3     Sectoral Development

3. INSTITUTIONAL STRUCTURE OF SECTOR

3.1    Organizational Framework
3.2    Human Resources
3.3    Legal Power

4. WATER AND SANITATION SERVICES

4.1    Water Supply Systems
4.2    Sanitation Services
4.3     Systems Management

5. SECTORAL STRENGTHS AND CRITICAL FACTORS

5.1     Strengths
5.2     Weaknesses
5.3     Sectoral Effectiveness and Efficiency

6. SECTORAL PLANS AND STRATEGIES FOR DEVELOPMENT

6.1    Plans and Strategies
6.2    Ongoing Projects

7. INTERSECTORAL RELATIONSHIPS

7.1    Health and Environment
7.2    Social Aspects
7.3    Economic Matters

8. FUTURE PERSPECTIVES

8.1    Future Investment(s)
8.2    Sectoral Reengineering
8.3    Zonal Attention

BIBLIOGRAPHY

TABLES:

2.1 Population Distribution
4.1 Operational Status of STPs

FIGURES:

2.1 Administrative Areas (1990)
3.1 Institutional Roles and Responsibilities in Water Supply and Sanitation Developments 3.2 WASA's Level of Operations

BOXES:

2.1 Brief Description of Trinidad and Tobago
4.1 Improvements at WASA: 1996-1998
8.1 Environmental Aspects of Tobago Plantations Ltd.

APPENDICES:

1. WASA 1999 Ongoing/Future Projects
2. Water and Sanitation Newspaper Clippings (1999)

 

 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

An examination of the "status quo" of the water and sanitation sector, especially in the Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA), indicates that during the years 1991-95 an attempt was made to analyze the situation and prepare a programme for improvement both administratively and technically. Carrying out this work was a local consulting team during the years 1992-94.

By late 1995 certain conclusions were arrived at in consensus among the sectoral institutions involved, and these may be stated as follows:

• Management of WASA had fallen down completely, thereby adversely affecting the Authority's technical operations possibly more blatantly than the administrative.

• The major failures of the Authority's technical programme were: unsatisfactory system operation and maintenance; excessive water leakage/wastage; wastewater treatment plant malfunctioning and lack of takeover of housing estate plants from developers; lack of programme coordination and integration; poor water supply in south Trinidad; ineffective technical supervision; etc.

• The major problems amongst the Authority's administrative programme were: low staff morale; low status with general public; inadequate cost recovery (e.g. rates/tariff); unsatisfactory information management; poor customer service; etc.

The main recommendations from the institutional strengthening team were to agree that the privatization of the water supply and sanitation sector was essential to future improvements to WASA and that a management team should be sought from North Atlantic countries to carry this out in the short (3 years) and long terms. Accompanying this was the need to mobilize resources (at home at abroad) to carry out various studies and expansion/improvement projects.

During the years 1996-98, an engineering management team (Severn Trent International and Tarmac) from the United Kingdom, in accordance with an Interim Operating Agreement with WASA and with World Bank funding, carried out an improvement plan of:

• Repair, rehabilitation and refurbishment of water supply and sanitation systems;
• Reorganization of the institutional framework;
• Increase in system(s) capacity;
• Training in the technical and operational aspects of operation and maintenance; Development of customer service and other support activities.

By 1999 some of the planned activities had been achieved, although system expansion at the Caroni and Navet water treatment plants and water metering were still underway. Meanwhile, the refurbishment of housing-estate package sewage treatment plants (including their takeover by WASA) was not finalized. In mid- 1999 a Build-Own- Operate contract was signed for a Desalination Plant at the Point Lisas Industrial Estate with a USA-Trinidad joint venture to provide 8 MGD in September 2000 with phased increases in production to satisfy the industrial demand of 15 MGD. This was a political decision to go for a new water system in the short term than to reduce the high unaccounted-for losses (50%) in the longer term.

It is clear from the studies, projects and improvement works already carried out (and underway) at WASA in the second half of this decade that the Authority is well on its way to private sector involvement and improved operations all around in the new millennium.