A water truck loading water at the filling station in The Bottom. Trucks take the water to people’s homes and to Saba businesses.
SABA--With the input of local stakeholders and the assistance of Dutch water operators Vitens Evides International (VEI), the Public Entity Saba has started the process to develop a Water Vision.
Fred Elgers and Eric Adamse of VEI were in Saba earlier this month to meet with the stakeholders and to hold a two-day workshop for the core team of civil servants about the water-supply system.
Interview sessions were held with a cross-section of stakeholders, including Saba Cares, Saba Business Association (SBA), the Tourism Bureau, the Public Health Department, the Agriculture Department, the Economic Affairs policy advisor and various other civil servants, a hotel and a supermarket.
VEI has been asked by the Public Entity Saba to help facilitate and support the drafting of a Water Vision policy document in which the mid- and long-term goals for the water supply system are defined. The Water Vision fits in the objective of the public entity to have accessible, affordable and healthy drinking water available for the Saba people.
The Water Vision will serve as the policy document for talks with the ministries in The Hague with regard to water supply and management. A distinction will be made in the document between the different types of water: rainwater, reverse osmosis (RO) water, grey water and Saba Splash/drinking water.
Since 2016, VEI has been assisting Saba with water management. The Dutch water operators played an important role in the setting up of the Saba Splash drinking water bottling plant, the RO-water facility and the water transportation and boosting system to pump up the water to the villages.
