GEO Haiti 2010

State of the Environment Report 2010
1. Water Resources
1.1 Overview of Water Resources
Water nourishes and sustains all living things yet at
least 400 million people in the world live in regions
affected by a shortage of water.
According to Caircross (1987), water consumption
in developing countries decreases from 40 liters
a day per person in areas where running water is
available, to 15 a day, if the water supply is at a
distance of 200 meters. If the water supply is more
than 1000 meters away, consumption drops to
less than 7 liters a day per person.
Haiti has a considerable hydrological potential.
From a hydro geological perspective, Haiti’s
water resources amount to a total of 56.2 billion
cubic meters of water, including 48 billion cubic
meters of continuous aquifers and 8.2 billion cubic
meters of discontinuous aquifers. Underground
water resources are thus distributed, thanks to
the allocation of permeable geological formations
which form natural reservoirs (CEPIS, 2000) 31 .
Figure 32: Seguin Waterfall in the la Selle Mountain
Range (Massif de la Selle)
1.1.1 Ground Water
Haiti has abundant water resources. More than
100 streams flow from its mountains into the
31
http://cepis.ops-oms.org/eswww/eva2000/Haiti/informe/inf-02.htm
Source: Courtesy of the Seguin Foundation
Gulf of Gonâive, the Atlantic Ocean and the
Caribbean Sea. In the mountains, the current is
rapid and torrential, but in the plains, the same
streams become slow and winding. As a result of
evaporation and permeation, many of these never
reach the sea. Ground water also flows directly
into the many irrigation systems, but the quantity
of water available for irrigation is decreasing
significantly as a result of deforestation.
The country has 30 basins and hydrographic areas
that flow from the mountains to the coastal waters,
and Haiti has important rivers with moderate flows
year round. The country also boasts extraordinary
waterfalls: for example, Cascade Pichon at Belle-
Anse, Saut-d’Eau in the Central Plateau and Saut
Mathurine at Camp-Perrin, including lakes and
ponds such as: Lake Azuei or Saumâtre Pond
(11,300 hectares), the artificial Péligre lake (2,750
hectares) and the Miragoâne ponds (1,130
hectares). There are also more than 31 waterways
representing roughly 6,820 ha, as well as 71
smaller streams totalizing approximately 2,770
hectares (DIMANCHE, 1998). Additionally, there are
90 hectares of reservoirs in the hills of Artibonite,
Central Plateau and in the Northeast.
The following mineral water springs (the hot springs
of Los Posos, Sud-Est, Sources Puantes and Balan
in the Cul-de-Sac Plain, and six hot springs with
limited mineral deposits, located between Terre-
Neuve and Gonaives) should also be mentioned.
Owing to their contact with magma and dissolved
minerals, these hot springs contain medicinal
and healing properties against some sicknesses.
The value of thermal water can also be enhanced
through the production of bottled mineral and
carbonated water. The lack of available data on the
exploitation of this resource does not permit yet an
assessment of its potential. Concerning the rules
on its exploitation, they appear to be the same as
those regulating mining and are monitored by the
Office of Mines and Energy.
The following table shows the country’s main
rivers and their characteristics.
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