February 2026 Vol. 81 No. 2
Features
Dominican Republic, Jamaica lead Caribbean water infrastructure investment push
By Eugene Gerden, Contributing Editor
(UI) — The Caribbean region is planning massive investments in the development of water and wastewater infrastructure in the near future, as its current technology remains generally poor and providing clean potable water access to local residents is complicated.
Historically the lack of access to water resources has been a severe problem for almost all Caribbean states. The situation has also worsened in recent decades amid the ongoing climate change in the region. That led to more severe droughts and an increase in the frequency of hurricanes and other natural disasters for the entire Caribbean region. In this regard, the development of water and wastewater infrastructure has become one of the priorities for most of the regional states.
For example, the authorities of the Dominican Republic – the second-largest and most-diverse Caribbean country, situated just two hours south of Miami – last year approved implementation of up to 37 major infrastructure projects designed for the next decade. It is reported that a significant part of them will be dedicated to the development of the country’s water and wastewater sectors.
In fact, the Dominican Republic has achieved impressive increases in access to water supply and sanitation over the two decades prior to 2010. That was mainly due to the active building of the necessary infrastructure during this period. However, the quality of water supply and sanitation services remains poor, despite the country's high economic growth during the 1990s.
Still, there is a possibility that such a situation will change thanks to planned new investment activities in this field. As part of these plans, particular attention will be paid for improvement and modernization of water infrastructure for Greater Santo Domingo – the capital and the largest city of the Dominican Republic and the largest metropolitan area in the entire Caribbean by population.
That involves building the US$300 million Hatillo Dam – Santo Domingo Aqueduct. The project involves construction of infrastructure for the collection, conveyance, treatment and distribution of potable water from the El Hatillo reservoir to the capital. The project is implemented by the Santo Domingo Water and Sewerage Corporation (CAASD) and will increase the city's water supply by 5 m³/day.
This is the largest water infrastructure project for the city and will benefit 2.7 million inhabitants. The majority of funds for the project will be provided by the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean. This is expected to be just the beginning, while the overhaul of water and wastewater infrastructure is also planned in other cities of the country.
Cuba
In the meantime, the situation with water supply in Cuba is significantly more complicated. Further delays in the modernization of the country’s water and wastewater network, according to most analysts, may lead to a serious water crisis in the country and even ecologic catastrophe.
While last year the government announced that it was investing some five billion pesos in more than 300 water infrastructure projects in the country, so far, no projects have been implemented.
According to a recent report in Spanish El Pais paper, more than three million local Cuban citizens suffer from water shortages on the island at present, while the current situation continues to deteriorate.
Representatives of government authorities acknowledge that the country is experiencing ‘a very complex situation’ caused by drought and problems with the water system’s infrastructure. Some communities in Eastern Cuba have been without water for about five months.
At present, over 80 percent of the country’s water infrastructure is over 40 years old and due for much needed maintenance. Still, due to the lack of funds and difficulty getting adequate government subsidies, implementation of these plans is seriously delayed by the authorities.
In addition to Havana, a complex situation is observed in Santiago de Cuba, the island’s second-largest city. It is facing the worst drought reported in 10 years, impacting more than 500,000 people. Its residents only get running water every 38 days, while some communities in Eastern Cuba have been without potable water for about five months.
Among the major reasons of the current crisis in the water sector of the country is lack of fuel, as well as pumping equipment breakdowns and so-called “salideros” (water leaks). Authorities confirm that, in Havana alone, between 40 and 50 percent – and sometimes up to 70 percent of the water pumped – is lost due to the deteriorated water system.
Haiti
In the meantime, the situation is generally better in Haiti – another major regional state, where local authorities pay serious attention to the issues of water security and development of local water infrastructure.
In fact, the government fears the situation of 2010, when the first modern large-scale outbreak of cholera took place in the country. The disease was reintroduced to Haiti in October 2010, not long after the disastrous earthquake earlier that year. According to experts of World Bank and Haitian government, in addition to earthquake, the lack of water and sanitation infrastructure (primarily in rural areas of the country) has become one of the major reasons for the outbreak of the dangerous pandemic.
Since that time, the government, together with private investors (and with the use of foreign assistance), has rebuilt the domestic water supply infrastructure. However, the problem still exists, due to the general vulnerability of the region to frequent natural disasters such as hurricanes and earthquakes.
For example, in 2016, Hurricane Matthew destroyed homes, infrastructure and farmers' livelihoods. Five years later, a major earthquake struck the region. Exant Duyon, a community water technician from the Roche-à-Bateaux community (where 50 people were killed by storm surge in just 36 minutes) reported that while the August 2021 earthquake was severe, it did not cause serious damage to the water infrastructure, including reservoirs, spring intakes and water pipes, which had been rebuilt after 2016.
Presently, the development of water infrastructure of the country is ongoing, being part of Sustainable Rural Drinking Water and Sanitation Project (EPARD), which is funded by the International Development Association (IDA) of the World Bank Group, along with other initiatives. The EPARD project involves the development of water infrastructure in numerous communes in Haiti.
As of now, the project has enabled Haitian authorities to increase access to drinking water for more than 560,000 inhabitants of rural areas and small towns in eight of the country's 10 regions. That came as the result of new supply-system construction, as well as the rehabilitation and expansion of existing water pipes. It has also enabled more than 31,000 people to access improved sanitation facilities.
Jamaica
Finally, there are some major developments in the water sector of Jamaica, with one of the most important projects in this field announced in August 2025.
The project involves building a $658-million water infrastructure project in Portland, a parish located on Jamaica's rural, northeast coast. The construction of the project, known as Crystal Spring and Orange Bay Water Supply System, will provide up to 6,000 residents with clean, drinking water.
Matthew Samuda, Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation with responsibility for water, reports the system will be developed in two phases.
“The first phase will involve the construction of the intake and installation of pumping equipment at the water source. The transmission pipeline will be installed from Orange Bay at the proposed pumping station adjacent to the Spring Gardens Agro-Park to the foot of Black Hill. Construction of the 150,000-gallon bolted steel tank will also take place in that area,” he said.
The Minister said that the second phase will include the construction of relift stations, installation of new pipelines and erection of an additional bolted steel tank with storage capacity of 100,000 gallons, at a projected cost of $300 million.
As part of the project, new pipelines are to be installed in areas where none previously existed, while aging and deteriorating pipes will be replaced. Additionally, 6- and 8-inch pipes will be installed as part of the upgrade, replacing the 2- to 4-inch pipes typically used in the old system.
Most analysts expect that the development of water and wastewater sector in the Caribbean will continue, although much will also depend on funding. Traditionally most countries in the region seek international support during implementation of such projects, while a significant part of the funding usually is provided by various financial organizations and banks.
In contrast to previous years, this time the support from the U.S. will be minimal, which is also due to major cutbacks of USAID in 2025. In the past, the U.S. provided serious support to the Caribbean states for implementation of many infrastructure projects, including those in water sector.
For example, in 2024, the U.S. Trade and Development Agency awarded a technical assistance grant to Jamaica’s National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) to expand access to clean water across Jamaica. The grant contributed to the deployment of reverse osmosis technology to transform seawater into water that is potable and suitable for commercial and industrial uses. A serious support to the Caribbean water sector was also planned within of the U.S.-Caribbean Partnership to Address the Climate Crisis 2030 (PACC 2030). Still, according to analysts, further prospects of these partnerships and their possible extension are currently cloudy.
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