Kingstown St. Vincent May 14, 2026-The government of St Vincent and the Grenadines is preparing to invest approximately EC$53 million in new water infrastructure across the Grenadines, as authorities move to address chronic shortages that have worsened following Hurricane Beryl and prolonged dry conditions.
Speaking on NBC radio (March 14th 2026), Health, Wellness, Environmental Health and Energy Minister Daniel Cummings said the planned investment would finally provide residents with a more reliable and sustainable supply of potable water.
“We are on the verge of getting roughly $53 million worth of investment in water in the Grenadine islands,” the minister said, adding that the project would include desalination plants, storage systems and distribution networks.
Cummings said the long-term goal is to ensure residents receive water consistently “rainy season or dry season”.
The minister said advances in desalination technology and solar energy systems are expected to reduce operating costs and improve reliability. According to Cummings, the planned systems will rely heavily on solar power to produce, and pump treated water into elevated storage tanks.
“The technology has improved on both fronts,” he said. “The desalination process has been enhanced. It is far less energy intensive than it used to be.”
The announcement comes amid a worsening water crisis in parts of the Grenadines, particularly Union Island, Canouan, Bequia and Mayreau, where residents have been relying on emergency water shipments by boat.
Cummings said transporting water by vessel was expensive and unsustainable, but necessary to prevent communities from going without safe drinking water.
“What we are doing now is literally putting out fires,” he said.
The minister blamed the shortages on a combination of factors, including reduced rainfall, increasing demand and hurricane damage to rainwater harvesting systems and public cisterns following Hurricane Beryl.
He said the Grenadines had fallen behind neighbouring islands in developing modern desalination infrastructure.
Cummings pointed to the Grenadian islands of Carriacou and Petite Martinique as examples of territories that had already established dependable desalination-based water systems years ago.
“What should have happened more than 20 years ago… the people of the Grenadines never saw those plans to fruition,” he said.
The minister added that some immediate projects are already under way, including a privately built desalination plant on Union Island expected to begin operating shortly.