National Water Policy.

This National Water Policy establishes strategies and guidelines to respond to the increasing demand for freshwater coupled with the rapid decline in the water resources. Based on the consideration that water resources management is intertwined with numerous other issues such as land use practices, climate change and coastal zone management, this Policy mainly focuses on: promoting the integrated and sustainable management of the resources; implementing the potable water supply and sewerage service throughout Saint Lucia. The overall goal of the Policy aims at promoting and facilitating the use and management of freshwater resources in an efficient, sustainable and equitable manner, in order to sustain the economic growth of the country and the environmental needs of current and future generations. The Policy therefore pursues the achievement of the following objectives: adoption of an integrated approach to the management of water resources; improving management of water resources and increasing access to water supply and sanitation and water-based services; increasing water resources contribution to the development of the agriculture, industrial and food sectors; ensuring the efficient and equitable allocation of water resources, in order to strengthen the environmental sustainability and the conservation of biological diversity.
The Policy moves from an analysis of the current situation relating to water use for agricultural and food purposes, water use for health and sanitation purposes, industrial water use; and then specifies the bases for building capacity and actions for integrated water resources management, and the interactions between the hydrological cycle and ecosystem conservation, land-use impacts, climate change, flood, drought and other natural disasters management. The Policy then focuses on the following aspects and targeted actions: promotion of effective water pollution prevention and control; strengthening human resource capacity; establishing equitable and efficient allocation of water rights and pricing mechanisms; ensuring adequate water supply and sanitation services; defining minimum standards of service for social water; strengthening institutional capacity for monitoring, surveillance and management services; granting the right to water, as universal access to a safe water supply, and appropriate sanitation, in order to reduce poverty and contribute to the human development; improving private sector participation in water resources management; increasing the use of water for production of safe food and agricultural products; improving irrigation techniques and farming practices, in order to increase the productivity of land and reduce the amount of water that is consumed; reducing the negative environmental impacts of industry on water resources.