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In the popular imagination, the Caribbean is paradise, an exotic place to escape to. But behind the images of balmy beaches and lush hotel grounds lies a crisis, the likes of which its residents have never experienced.

Caribbean islands are in a , and their governments have warned that .

Within the past five years, every island in the region has experienced some sort of water scarcity. For example, Trinidad is experiencing its , and residents are under water restrictions through at least the end of June 2024, with  the rules.

Dominica, considered the  for its mountain rain forests, is seeing a  in freshwater resources and increasingly frequent water shortages. In Grenada, known as the spice isle,  water systems throughout the island.

Jamaica is also facing  and has had to resort to water shutoffs in recent years, limiting water availability to  in some areas.  and  have had to ration water. Barbados has experienced several  in recent years.

In fact, recent data shows that the Caribbean is one of the  in the world.

I study the intersection of , particularly in the Caribbean. Safe water is essential for all human activity and public health. That's why it is important to understand the root causes of the water crises and to find effective, affordable ways to improve water supply systems.

3 reasons water demand is outstripping supply

Changing precipitation patterns and droughts are straining Caribbean water supplies, but water demand has also been outstripping supply for a number of reasons.

1. Rapid urbanization and industrialization

The Caribbean is one of the most rapidly urbanizing regions in the world. About three-quarters of its population , and that percentage is rising, adding pressure on public water systems.

At the same time, increased industrialization and commercialization of agriculture have degraded water quality and in some cases encroached on sensitive water catchment areas, affecting the .

This competing demand for limited fresh water  stream flows and led to  from sensitive sources. In Dennery North, , water shortages have left residents collecting water from rivers and other sources for their homes and farms.

Unregulated  can also worsen the problem. Many islands depend on groundwater.

For example, . However, increasing demand and changes in annual rainfall patterns are . As a result, supply isn't keeping up with demand. This is a huge problem for the island of Utila, located off the coast of Honduras, where the current rate of aquifer recharge is . For comparison, Barbados has a recharge rate of .

2. Water-intensive tourism industry

It's no secret that the Caribbean is a popular tourist destination, and tourist economies .

Even during water rationing, water is diverted to hotels and other tourist-dependent sites first. That can leave local residents  for hours or days at a time and facing fines if they violate use restrictions.

Tourism not only  but also the pollution of water resources. Building golf courses to attract more tourists further  and runoff.

3. Weak water infrastructure governance

Another problem water systems face is weak governance that leads to excessive  before it even reaches the customer.

A well-performing water utility will usually . In the Caribbean, the average nonrevenue water is .

The reasons range from lack of appropriate management practices to metering inaccuracies, leaks and theft.

Water as critical infrastructure

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Climate change and extreme weather worsen water insecurity

These troubled water systems can struggle on good days. Worsening extreme weather, such as hurricanes and flooding, can damage infrastructure, leading to .

The Caribbean is the . The islands face frequent earthquakes, landslides, devastating hurricanes and other destructive storms. As  and , the  and storm surge  increases.

Three months after Hurricane Maria hit in 2017, well over  water. Hurricane Dorian in 2019 left Grand Bahama Utility Co. and the country's Water and Sewerage Corp. with U$54 million in damages. A year after Dorian, WSC was " to pre-Hurricane Dorian levels."

How hybrid rainwater harvesting can help

Improving water access in the Caribbean means working on all of those challenges. Better governance and investment can help reduce water loss from theft and leaks. Government and social pressure and educating tourists can help reduce waste at hotels and resorts.

There are also ways to increase water supply. One involves being more strategic about how the islands use a practice the region has .

Rainwater harvesting involves capturing rainwater, often from where it runs off rooftops, and storing it for future use. It can replace irrigation, or the water can be treated for household uses.

Right now, rainwater harvesting is not managed as part of the islands' centralized water management system. Instead, households bear the cost to finance, build and maintain their own systems. Finding technical support can be difficult, leaving households to contend with seasonal variations in water quantity and quality. That makes risks to drinking water safety difficult to identify.

If rainwater harvesting were instead combined with central water systems in a managed hybrid water model, I believe that could help expand safe rainwater harvesting and address water issues in the region.

It's a relatively new concept, and integrating decentralized sources , including , but it has . Decentralized sources, such as rainwater harvesting, groundwater or , could serve as backup water sources during shortages or provide water for nonpotable purposes, such as flushing toilets or irrigation, to reduce demand for treated water.

Engineers in Australia are  to help face the challenges of delivering secure, safe and sustainable water in the future.

Fulfilling a human right in the islands

The World Health Organization has declared that access to a sufficient, safe and reliable water supply is , and that to accomplish this, water suppliers have a responsibility to provide adequate quantities of potable water.

Hybrid water systems could help ensure water safety and security for island communities and improve the water systems' resilience amid the human and environmental pressures facing the Caribbean.