A historic milestone in Grenada’s water sector will unfold today, Wednesday, 2 July 2025, with the official sod-turning ceremony for the Southern St George Water Supply Expansion Project (SSGWSEP).
This transformative infrastructure initiative marks a defining step toward enhanced water security, improved wastewater services, and increased climate resilience for thousands of residents, businesses, and institutions across the island’s southern corridor.
The project is the result of a collaborative partnership between the Government of Grenada, the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), and the United Kingdom Government, through the UK Caribbean Infrastructure Fund (UKCIF). It is being executed by the National Water and Sewerage Authority (Nawasa) and managed by the CDB. Prime Minister Hon. Dickon Mitchell and Resident British Commissioner Victor Clark will be among those who will deliver remarks at today’s ceremony.
The project consists of 2 major components.
Lot 1, which spans from Concord to St George’s, involves the expansion of the Concord Water Treatment Plant, increasing its capacity from 600,000 to approximately 1 million gallons per day. Two new 360,000-gallon storage tanks will be constructed at Moliniere, while check dams and intakes at the Black Bay River will undergo critical rehabilitation. This lot also includes the installation of hydrological and meteorological monitoring equipment and upgrades to roughly 2 miles of essential water transmission mains.
Lot 2, extending from St George’s to Point Saline, will see the installation of approximately 7 miles of new potable water mains, along with 1.25 miles of sewer mains within the Town of St George. Additionally, 3 key sewer lift stations serving the capital and surrounding communities will be upgraded to improve efficiency and reliability.
Beyond physical infrastructure, the SSGWSEP places a strong emphasis on institutional strengthening. Among the initiatives are the development of a comprehensive IT strategy for Nawasa, targeted staff training in Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E), and the implementation of a Gender-Responsive and Socially Inclusive Community Communications Programme.
The project also includes support for climate-smart agriculture within the Black Bay River watershed, reinforcing its commitment to environmental sustainability and community resilience. “This project goes beyond pipes and tanks,” said Nawasa’s Acting General Manager, Dennies Burris. “It represents a holistic investment in Grenada’s people, infrastructure, and institutions. It will significantly reduce water losses, enhance wastewater services, and future-proof our systems in the face of climate change.”
The project officially became effective on 12 April 2024, and contractors for both Lot 1 and Lot 2 are eager to get the ball rolling, marking a major milestone in advancing water security and climate resilience. The overall completion of the project is targeted for the first quarter of 2026.
To ensure minimal community disruption, the project is being executed under a comprehensive Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP). A Traffic Management Plan, developed in partnership with the Royal Grenada Police Force (RGPF), will be shared with the public in the coming days.
Members of the public are invited to join the ceremony virtually via GIS, Mikey LIVE, and Nawasa’s official Facebook page from 4 pm today as Grenada takes another bold step toward sustainable development and climate resilience.
Nawasa
Right now, there is rain and more rain in Grenada. However the Grenadian residents in True Blue are not receiving any more water than they did six months, two years or five years ago. NAWASA, in its infinite “wisdom” put down a four-inch main a few years ago – which exacerbated rather than served to alleviate the acute water shortage problem in True Blue. Today, with all the rain pelting down, we are not getting any improved water supply at all!
Also, Government appears not to want to introduce legislation that would make it mandatory for new buildings to install cisterns to improve rain water collection in Grenada.
We know know that the REAL problem with water supply is the extremely high volatility in rain water intensity. Conclusion: no amount of “increase storage capacity” will resolve that issue since “storage itself has a fixed capacity and the excess rain is “lost” when that capacity is filled.
So. What is the point of this initiative? Better to install a high volume desalination plant, require sisterns be installed in all new properties and insist that all new hotels install their own desalination plants (as is done in Antigua). Such an approach will not cost the county the millions of dollars that it now spending on boosting a system that will still have the underlying constraints of a combination of excess storage (in dry spells) and inadequate storage (in the rainy seasons). Urhhh.
Perfect time to develop micro-hydro electricity generation capability.
We will be bringing water down from a substantial pressure head in he Concord watershed. We will need to reduce pressure anyway, so why let that energy go to waste? Use it to generate electricity, basically for free. Micro-hydro is cheap and flexible–it works when the sun isn’t shining and the wind isn’t blowing, so the renewable grid will be much more stable. No major infrastructure investment, just put small turbines connected to the pipes (“penstocks”) we will need to build anyway to get the water down from the mountains. Small turbines are readily available from 50 KW to 25 MW and and can be sited locally in small structures where flow and head will support.
Our electrical energy cost are holding us back. Time to think-out-of-the-box, Grenada.