Flood No More!
How the USAID Water Resource Management and Flood Resilience Project in Barbados saved homes and businesses
Imagine if every time rain fell, you were worried sick that your house would be washed away down the canal and into the sea. And imagine that every time it rained, water breached your front door and flooded your house, causing severe damage.
Kenrick Marshall didn’t have to imagine. This was the reality for him and other residents of Trents, St. James, Barbados, for many years.
“I’ve been living in this area for almost 30 years … and every time heavy rains came, I was worried for my family and me. Since we live so close to the canal, the water would rush from the top of the hill and settle under our house. I was always scared that the force of the water would wash our home away,” said Kenrick, who lives with his son.
And as weather patterns changed over the years, with unseasonal heavy rainfall and more destructive hurricanes affecting the region, the flooding in the area worsened.
Kenrick continues: “I remember one year, the flooding was so bad that water came under our door and flooded the house. One bedroom was badly flooded, and we had severe water damage. It took a while to clean up and get the house back to normal. Every time it rained after that, I was nervous that our house would get damaged again.”
However, in 2020, Kenrick’s frightening reality changed after USAID, in collaboration with the Government of Barbados, completed the seven-year Water Resource Management and Flood Resilience Project in Holetown, St. James. USAID contributed $5.3 million to the project, while Barbados invested $1.7 million. This initiative is part of the ongoing U.S. commitment to support a safer and more resilient Caribbean through the U.S.-Caribbean Resilience Partnership.
The project was executed in two phases aimed at developing comprehensive plans and then putting them into action to alleviate the flooding in the communities of Trents, Holetown, and Speightstown, home to nearly 100 residences and businesses. That included everything from upgrading culverts to erecting new drainage channels to managing stormwater flows more successfully.
“Improving flood resilience and water resource management is a critical need in Barbados,” says USAID/Eastern and Southern Caribbean Regional Representative Clinton White. “Through this project, we have equipped the Government of Barbados with the tools needed to make informed decisions related to stormwater management and water quality in the country.
“We expect that reduced incidents of flooding will result in less disruption to businesses, communities, and livelihoods.”
Speaking at the closing ceremony for the project late last year, Environment and National Beautification Minister Adrian Forde said: “This project has really redefined the lives of the people in Holetown, and I am proud of the achievements and success of the project. We will learn from this and improve as we continue projects across Barbados as related to flooding. I would like to thank USAID for their commitment to the development of Barbados.”
Kenrick attests that the lives of Trents residents have indeed improved after the completion of the project.
“I am so thankful that since the project was finished, we don’t have flooding like that anymore,” Kenrick says. “I am also grateful that, with the barriers that have been put in for drainage, a lot of the garbage and debris that come down the hill when rain falls is now trapped and no longer goes out to sea.
“As a glass bottom boat operator, I am happy about that because not only did the flooding decrease, but marine life is also protected now that garbage no longer washes into the sea.”
Once terrified that heavy rains would cause them to lose their homes, the residents of Trents, St. James in Barbados can breathe more easily as the rainwater now bypasses their houses and flows into the sea.
About the Author
Ayesha Lett is the Development Outreach and Communications Specialist at USAID Eastern and Southern Caribbean located in Barbados.
