The major activities of the Water Resources Authroity (WRA) include hydrologic data collection, compilation, and analysis; water resources investigation, assessment, and planning; water resources allocation; and environmental monitoring and impact assessment.The WRA routinely monitors river flows at 133 gauging stations and groundwater at 1,802 sites throughout the Island. It has a database of quality checked data, stored in computerized format dating back to the 1950's. Projects like the Rio Cobre Dam Reconstruction benefitted greatly from the use of this quality data base.Rational water allocation was formally facilitated by the issuing of licenses for groundwater abstraction. With the enactment of the Water Resources Act of 1995, users of surface water will now have to obtain licenses.
Pollution studies are periodically carried out in order to assess water quality in areas identified as critical. The WRA will shortly complete a comprehensive study of the Liguanea Plains Groundwater Quality and preliminary results of the study have already been presented. Growing urbanization and industrialization will impact significantly on the water resources of the island.
A series of pollution vulnerability maps for the Island delineating the susceptibility of the aquifers to pollution is almost completed. Guidelines have been prepared for the siting of solid waste disposal facilities and a milestone achievement was the utilization of the guidelines in an Interamerican Development Bank (IDB) financed Solid Waste Management Project (SWMP).The WRA is represented on the steering committee of the SWMP and assesses the geotechnical study for each of four (4) proposed landfill sites.
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