GEO Haiti 2010

State of the Environment Report 2010
Vegetation cover has deteriorated to the point
of bareness, leading to a considerable increase in
rainwater run-off. Deforestation has reduced the
quantity of water which refills the aquifers, resulting
in low underground-water levels. In many areas,
this decline resulted in the drying-up of wells and
a level of water too low to restore it to a level of
less than 300 feet. Although underground water
is generally safer than the supply of untreated
surface water, many shallow aquifers become
biologically contaminated because of poor waste
management.
With regard to groundwater, currently lakes and
ponds are ecosystems generating enormous
environmental problems in Haiti. The main
challenges, together with the variation of levels
of these ecosystems called “Eaux dormantes” or
stagnant waters (Saumatre pond 11,300 hectares
and the Miragoane ponds, 1,130 hectares), would
be the enormous impacts in terms of damage to
agricultural and human settlements in the nearby
areas. According to experts, this is due either to
the presence of alluvium, the effects of the rain
system or human-based activities or even the
hydro-dynamism in the aquifers that are in use or
no longer in use.
Therefore, taking into account the projected
population 32 growth according to recent data, Haiti
would be one of nine countries facing a serious
shortage of water by 2025. However, the question
of shortage is to be seen less in terms of potential
and availability but rather in terms of geographic
distribution and methods of exploitation, resulting
in an inadequate number of water supply systems
and of irrigated perimeters and in insufficient
sanitation, particularly in the large towns (Gadelle
in Emmanuel, 2007).
According to Emmanuel et al (2002), the water
problem in Haiti today occurs within a very
particular demographic context, characterized by
a densely-populated country with people suffering
at the same time from poverty, malnourishment
and deficiencies in education.
1.2.3 Reduction and
Unavailability of Water
There has been a marked reduction in water
resources in Haiti. Indeed, as a result of the
imbalance in the hydrological cycles, caused
mainly by deforestation, there has been an increase
in rainwater run-off. Consequently, the water-table
is now showing a deficit, a situation still not well
documented. Watercourses are drying up more
easily and undergoing physical modifications as a
result of sediments coming from watersheds.
Experts have therefore observed a 50% decrease
in water levels (PAHO/WHO, 2003). In addition,
some bodies of water have seen their storage
possibility reduced. For example, the Péligre Lake,
the country’s only major reservoir, has lost at least
a third of its storage capacity (USSC, op.cit.).
Water is unavailable for a considerable part of the
population. During the last decade of the 20th
century and two years beyond that, less than 60%
of the population had access to drinking water
(PAHO/WHO, 2003).
It should be noted that the major problem is not
yet the scarcity of water, but its inaccessibility, and
when drought further reduces the population’s
water supply, there is evidence of a certain level of
inertia on the part of the institutions concerned.
1.2.4 Deterioration of the
Quality of Water Resources
The deterioration of the quality of water has
reached significant proportions in Haiti over the
last few decades. This is manifested in its saltiness,
the presence of harmful substances such as faecal
coliforms, Cryptosporidium oocysts, and heavy
metals in the water.
Some underground waters have become salty
as a result of over-pumping. The Cul-de-Sac Plain
close to Port-au-Prince is one such example. Also,
according to some sources, the extraction of
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GADELLE, F. Le monde manquera-t-il bientôt d’eau? Sécheresse. 1995: vol. 6, 1:11-15