State of Water Statistics
in Jamaica
Regional Workshop on Water Accounting
16–18 July 2007
Santo Domingo
'Land of Wood and Water'
• The Tainos, who inhabited Jamaica
before the Spanish and the English,
called the island 'Xaymaca' which
means the 'Land of Wood and Water'.
Legislation
• The Water Resources Act of 1995 stated that 'It shall
be the duty of the Water Resources Authority (WRA)
to regulate, allocate, conserve and otherwise manage
the water resources of Jamaica.'
• The Jamaica Water Sector Policy 2004 states the
responsibilities of the different agencies which
provide water services.
Legislation (cont’d)
• NWC Act 1963 amended 2004
• Flood Control Act
Linkages to other policies and Acts such as
• the National Forest Management and Conservation Plan
• the National Watershed Policy
• the Office of Utilities Regulation Act 1995
• the National Irrigation Development Plan
• the Ministry of Water and Housing Strategic Framework
• the National Land Policy
• the National Industrial Policy
Water Resources Authority
• Since April 1996, the Water Resources
Authority (WRA) has had responsibility for the
regulation, control and management of the
nation’s water resources.
• It is the sole water management agency in
Jamaica.
• Has responsibility for the allocation of water
resources and oversees the withdrawal of
ground water from over 640 wells across the
island.
Other Agencies
• National Water Commission is responsible for the urban
water supply throughout the island. It is also the largest
provider of sewerage services.
• National Irrigation Corporation is currently responsible
for the operation of irrigation systems.
• National Environment & Planning Agency is the
environmental management agency and is responsible for
monitoring water quality under its Watershed Branch.
• The ministry responsible for water establishes the water
policy along with the other water agencies.
Simplified Water Resources Cycle
Source: Caribbean Natural Resources Institute
Water Issues
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Competition for water sources
Protection of surface water from pollution sources
Groundwater contamination
Unreliable and insufficient water supplies during the dry
season
Poor water quality at source
High treatment costs
Lack of convenient access to potable water by rural
households
Reliance on untreated water from streams and rivers by
significant proportion of poor
Resistance to increasing the price paid for water
Environment
Statistics 2005
and Water
Some information in this
publication:







Watersheds
Water balance
Sources of water
Freshwater consumption
Water pollution
Conservation measures
Water standards
Also includes other statistics
relating to the environment.
Water Balance
Average Annual Water Balance, 1990 and 2005, million m3/year
1990
Rainfall
Evapotranspiration
Surface water runoff
Groundwater discharge
2005
21,212
11,945
21,080
10,051
5,576
3,691
6,530
4,499
Exploitable Water Resources
Reliable surface water yield
Safe groundwater yield
Total
Water Demand
Non-agricultural sector
Agricultural sector
Environmental flows
Total
Source: Water Resources Authority
666
3419
4085
1,490
3,725
5,215
231
363
682
–
913
439
510
1,312
Annual Water Production and Revenue by the NIC
(2003/04–2005/06)
Irrigation Location
Water Produced(m 3 )
2003/04
2004/05
Water Invoiced(m 3 )
2005/06
2004/05
2005/06
Eastern Region
Pumped
8,265,401
12,407,624
9,133,870
7,512,084
5,675,376
Canal flow
59,396,261
71,429,771
69,975,322
46,671,248
43,709,850
Total East Region
67,661,662
83,837,395
79,109,192
54,183,332
49,385,226
22,320,702
20,273,224
12,536,720
11,902,917
15,932,860
22,320,702
32,176,141
28,469,580
23,515,514
15,103,946
2,975,997
3,459,491
3,248,503
2,940,458
2,586,234
Pumped
33,562,101
36,140,340
24,919,093
23,365,556
River/Gravity Flow
59,396,261
83,332,688
85,908,182
43,709,850
Grand Total
92,958,362
119,473,028
110,827,275
Middle Region
Pumped
River
Total Mid Region
Western Region Pumped
…
15,103,946
Overall
Revenue J$m
Source: National Irrigation Commission
80,639,304
67,075,406
128.3
110.6
Annual Water Demand by Sector, 2004
Irrigation
32.9%
Environment
38.9%
Industrial
7.0%
Hotels
0.3%
Source: Water Resources Authority
Domestic
21.0%
Data on Domestic Water 2004–2006
2004
Water Produced (megalitres)
2005
2006
280,308.0
296,454.1
294,384.0
94,729.0
94,415.7
95,318.0
400,102
410,286
418,347
Revenue ($M)
7,293.2
8,436.2
9,297.4
Non-revenue water
185,579
202,038
199,066
66.2
68.2
67.6
Consumption (megalitres)
No. of Connections
%
Source: National Water Commission
Wastewater
• The NWC collects wastewater and sewage
from over 600,000 customers across the
island.
• Wastewater is treated and used for irrigation
and to cool electricity generating plants.
• This data is not currently being collected.
Water Use by Sector
Estimated Economic Contribution and
Water Use by Sector, 2005
Sector
Unit
Manufacturing
Irrigated Agriculture
Tourism
Mining and Processing
Other Services
Residential
Environment
Total
Direct
Annual
contribution
Water Use
to GDP
106
J$ billion
m3/year
125
16
31
439
106
4
60
60
120
10
–
274
–
510
442
1,313
Source: Water Resources Authority
Environment Protection Expenditure
Objective of the EPE Survey
• The aim of the EPE survey is to determine the
annual cost of protecting the environment
which is incurred by enterprises in selected
sectors. In this survey, the environmental
protection activities were classified into four
domains as follows:
•
•
•
•
Protection of surrounding air
Wastewater management
Solid waste management
Protection of soil, ground water or surface water
Expenditure on EPE, 2004
Percentage of Total Current Expenditure Spent
Sector
Environmental Domain
Chemicals
Food and
Beverage
Hotels
All Sectors
Protection of surrounding air
0.05
–
–
0.02
Wastewater management
0.18
0.14
1.54
0.62
Solid waste management
0.24
0.26
0.37
0.29
–
0.01
–
–
Protection of soil, ground water &
surface water
Percentage of Total Capital Expenditure Spent
Sector
Environmental Domain
Chemicals
Food and
Beverage
Hotels
All Sectors
0.34
1.56
–
0.63
Wastewater management
–
0.70
1.62
0.77
Solid waste management
–
0.10
0.46
0.19
0.34
–
–
0.11
Protection of surrounding air
Protection of soil, ground water &
surface water
National Accounts
• National accounts are prepared in the central statistics office –
the Statistical Institute of Jamaica.
• The national accounts calculations are derived from volume of
water produced & consumed and sales and revenue from the
NWC. Data from private water suppliers are not now being
included.
• Sales of water for agriculture are included under agricultural
services.
• Jamaica is in the process of implementing the 1993 SNA and is
preparing a supply/use table based on 2000 data.
• There are no plans to implement environmental accounting.
Gross Domestic Product by Industry in Producers' Values
2004–2006
Industry by Sub-sectors
Current Prices
2004
2005
2006
p
Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing
27,706.5
31,814.0
35,520.6
Mining and Quarrying
22,716.9
23,837.6
24,660.3
Manufacturing
68,489.7
76,158.7
84,030.4
18,584.4
24,084.2
28,096.3
14,320.6
18,873.5
n.a.
4,263.8
5,210.7
n.a.
53,289.2
61,078.4
65,984.8
105,139.4
120,279.4
133,822.9
T ransport, Storage and Communication
62,054.4
67,917.0
78,196.0
Financing and Insurance Services
34,671.0
38,217.5
42,498.9
Real Estate and Business Services
31,293.5
35,862.9
40,719.8
Producers of Government Services
61,611.9
64,968.0
74,732.5
Miscellaneous Services
35,732.4
39,129.9
45,167.5
2,554.9
3,031.0
3,380.6
24,431.0
26,848.0
30,772.2
499,413.2
559,530.6
626,038.4
41,395.4
45,499.8
n.a.
540,808.6
605,030.4
n.a.
Elect ricit y and Wat er
Electricity Light & Pow er
W ater & Sanitation Services
Construction and Installation
Distributive T rade
Household and Private Non-profit
Institutions
Less imputed bank service charges
Tot al GDP at Current Prices
Plus Value Added T ax
Tot al GDP at Purchasers' Price
Thank you.