The Caribbean Water Initiative (CARWIN) yesterday made a donation of a US$8,000 water quality testing kit to government to boost effective water management and St. Cuthbert’s Mission in Region Four has been identified as the pilot community.

Guyana, Grenada and Jamaica are three pilot countries benefiting from the initiative which seeks to enhance the capacity of Caribbean countries to deliver sustainable and equitable integrated water resources management, the Government Information Agency (GINA) reported.

Agriculture Minister Robert Persaud received the donation which is part of an initiative dating back to September 2001 when initial discussions took place and subsequently project proposals were approved in 2006.

The project implementation targets one community in each pilot state.

Chief Hydrologist of CIMH Kailas Narayan who made the donation, GINA said, explained that the identified community will be responsible for monitoring the water quality and providing the information to the Hydromet office. This information could in turn be used as forewarning mechanisms to help mitigate the effects of flooding.

According to GINA, the initiative also includes a series of training sessions on the principles of integrated water resources management, hydromet data processing and use of field instrumentation and water policy.