ACROSS the Caribbean, repeated drought emergencies and water restrictions have become a defining feature of recent decades, with nations such as Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Trinidad and Tobago, Guadeloupe, and St Lucia all issuing multiple alerts between 2010 and 2026.

Whilst these measures are necessary to conserve scarce supplies, the public health implications must be given due consideration. Without reliable access to clean water, communities face heightened vulnerability to disease outbreaks, making water resilience a public health imperative.

Governance must drive resilience

Governance is the mechanism that transforms resilience from aspiration into practice. Effective governance ensures that water systems are managed with long-term reliability, sustainability, and equity in access to clean water. It sets the rules for conservation, directs investment into infrastructure, and empowers communities to participate in stewardship. In this way, resilience is not simply about having water today and none tomorrow; it is about building systems that can withstand, adapt to, and recover from water related shocks, ensuring continuity of supply for all communities.

Learning from the Bermuda model

The World Health Organization advises that every person needs between 50 and 100 litres of water daily to conduct basic domestic functions and the Bermuda model of water resilience demonstrates how this requirement can be embedded into everyday life. In Bermuda, every home is legally required to have water tanks designed to harvest and store rainwater, with roofs engineered to channel rainfall directly into cisterns. This creates household reserves that reduce reliance on central supplies and exemplifies how government policy and structural systems can foster resilience. Beyond infrastructure, it cultivates a culture of water stewardship, where families manage reserves carefully, balancing daily consumption with long-term sustainability. Such a model not only strengthens resilience against climate extremes but also empowers households to take ownership of their water future.

Dual approach for protection

Municipal water supply remains essential to achieving water security, but should work hand in hand with household reserves. When rainfall is low or tanks run dry, the municipal network provides a safety net, ensuring that families can continue basic domestic functions. Conversely, when municipal systems face disruptions from drought, contamination, or infrastructure breakdown, household tanks offer community level resilience until services are restored. This dual approach not only builds redundancy into water systems but also distributes responsibility across both Government and households. By combining centralised infrastructure with decentralised reserves, communities reduce their vulnerability to climate extremes, strengthen their adaptive capacity, and create a culture of shared stewardship. In practice, this means households manage their supplies carefully while municipalities invest in reliable networks, reducing the likelihood of cascading public health crises.

Springs: A hidden wealth

Jamaica is considered water-rich, with more than 320 recorded springs scattered across the island. Many of these springs are naturally alkaline, offering hydration and mineral balance that add a public health advantage to the nation’s reserves. Research on non-municipal water sources, particularly springs, shows that they provide excellent quality water even after extreme events such as hurricanes and droughts. With government support, these water sources can be harnessed to supply communities directly, reducing dependence on municipal systems. Unbeknown to many, communities in the eastern parts of the island are already tapping into springs, proving that local solutions can be both sustainable and effective. With greater investment in natural purification methods such as slow sand filtration, Jamaica’s hidden wealth of springs could significantly enhance national resilience and become a cornerstone of water security.

Policy innovation required

Water resilience is not an abstract concept; it is inseparable from the government’s thrust to provide adequate and safe water for its people, as well as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, particularly Goal 6, which is to ensure the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all. For Jamaica, achieving these objectives depends on the implementation of national policies that drive investment in resilient infrastructure, rainwater harvesting, sustainable utilisation of natural springs, and the adoption of eco-friendly treatment methods. Such policies must also advance Goal 3: Good Health and Well-Being, by reducing disease outbreaks; and Goal 13: Climate Action, by preparing communities for droughts and floods. In this way, water governance becomes the foundation of resilience, ensuring that water systems remain reliable and sustainable even in the face of climate extremes.

Protecting public health

Advancing resilient water systems is a direct investment in public health and must be treated as a national priority. Jamaica’s ongoing drought experience, compounded by continuing El Niño effects, underscores the urgency of resilience planning. Clear and immediate policy strategies are required to convert the island’s natural water assets into universal access, strengthening resilience, safeguarding public health, and advancing national development goals.

Dr Karlene Atkinson is vice-dean (acting), Joint Colleges of Medicine, Oral Health and Veterinary Sciences — University of Technology, Jamaica.

Dr Karlene Atkinson.