Floods, tropical storms or landslides are only a few above ground threats to water infrastructure. These compounded by small cracks for example, can become a determinant for a small island state like Grenada who is particularly vulnerable to climate change. Therefore, under the Climate-Resilient Water Sector in Grenada (G-CREWS) project assessments have been made to protect investments into the project’s infrastructure. 

In July 2021 twenty-four (24) participants, drawn from nine (9) different stakeholder organisations, including but not limited to NAWASA, the Ministry of Infrastructure Development and the Ministry of Agriculture, sat together to understand the risk and propose responses to integrate climate resilience measures into the planned infrastructure.  

As an outcome a comprehensive guide on climate-proofing measures has been developed and can be viewed or downloaded here. 

Example: Water Tanks and Landslides 

The assessment made in the climate-proofing workshop identified the most relevant threats for water tanks, including changes in precipitation and water availability, landslides, wind-speed increase and hurricanes. Out of these threats, landslides were identified as a threat to the infrastructure to both underground and above-ground water tanks. 

Landslides can affect the foundation of the water tanks, create cracks that can either leak water or contaminate the storage unit with pathogenic and other contaminants. Ultimately, they can endanger water quality, increase the propagation of water-borne diseases and even interrupt water access for a prolonged time, thus creating a real threat to human and possibly animal safety.  

An important measure to manage landslide risk, as well as some high rainfall scenarios, is to establish safety criteria for the selection of construction areas. Building in landslide-prone areas should be avoided, and drainage systems are required to reduce the risk of landslides.  The preliminary design considers the landslide risk while choosing the right location for the tanks and transmission pipes.  

G-CREWS Project Information 

Over a six-year period, the Government of Grenada, the Grenada Development Bank and the National Water and Sewerage Authority (NAWASA) in partnership with the German Development Corporation (GIZ) will implement this project. 

The G-CREWS project is jointly financed by the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) under its International Climate Initiative (IKI), and the Government of Grenada.