Integrating wastewater reuse into water management schemes of Caribbean SIDS: a Trinidad and Tobago case study

Abstract

Integrating wastewater reuse (WWRU) into national water management schemes (WMS) is crucial as Small Island Developing States (SIDS) cope with increasing demand, supply, and quality limitations. In 2022, under the Global Environment Facility Caribbean Regional Fund (GEF CReW+) on Wastewater Management, the Ministry of Public Utilities (MPU), Trinidad and Tobago spearheaded the development of a national voluntary standard for wastewater reuse for agricultural and landscaping uses, paving the way for further integration of WWRU. During the process, the MPU conducted a Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices (KAP) and Willingness to Pay (WTP) assessment to inform the standard and subsequent implementation. In total, 146 stakeholders in Trinidad and Tobago completed the assessment. Results indicated ‘good’ knowledge on wastewater and WWRU (59.3%), however attitudes and practices were considered ‘poor’. Inferential Statistics performed on numerically coded survey response data revealed no statistically significant relation with the demographic factors assessed. The results indicated that most respondents were willing to use treated wastewater (84.1%). Furthermore, 27.3% of respondents were willing to pay the same price as conventional water. This assessment can inform the implementation and pricing process and allows for identification of critical areas of focus to increase the uptake of WWRU in Trinidad and Tobago