“FRESH WATER RESOURCES
INTEGRATED
WATERSHED MANAGEMENT”
Water is the most
important factor for the life of human beings and for all other living things. Therefore
water should be conserved and kept sustainable in terms of existence, quantity
and quality.
The urban centers
and rural areas of East Timor are suffering equally from both water shortages
and problems with water quality . The main reasons for shortages are
destruction of infrastructure during post referendum violence in 1999, and
poorly laid and maintained water systems. During the crisis in 1999 everything
was damaged, including intakes, reservoirs and water treatment facilities (1).
There are also
many problems related to watershed management in East Timor. These
problems include deforestation and forest fires in catchment areas that result
in increased sedimentation in river basins. Such problems can be solved by
conventional models of a practical and simple nature. The problems of
increasing erosion and sedimentation generally arise from rainfall and basin characteristics, and are
especially influenced by the change of land use by human intervention.
1. The main problem of fresh
water resources
Water represents the most
important component for the life of human beings and other creatures. Water
also plays a key role in successful national development and therefore should
be responded to with awareness by both the government and the community. We must be aware that water tends to become
more and more scarce.
If water resources such as
springs, ground water, rivers, and reservoirs (including treatment plants) are
not conserved and kept sustainable, the result will be decreased development
outcomes.
There are the problems of
biological, chemical and physical pollution of water. For example water quality is extremely low in the Viqueque and
Manatuto districts. In a study
undertaken in the Viqueque district, only 22% of water samples met district
physical, chemical and bacteriological standards, and in the Manatuto district only
25% of water samples met the same standards(2). Such water quality
problems place a heavy burden on the community, on the operation and
maintenance of water systems and on the water sources themselves.
Therefore fresh water
resources should be maintained in a sustainable condition in terms of both quality
and quantity.
Watershed management is an
integral part of water quality management - it represents one of the human
efforts to prevent deterioration of water quality and allow sustainable utilisation
of water resources of a standard quality.
At the present time, the quantity
and quality of water resources in East Timor are decreasing. During the dry
season, spring and river discharge is decreasing while community activity, e.g.
grass fire and tree (forest) felling is increasing. Decreasing water quality
also results from pollution from domestic and industrial wastes(3).
In coastal areas of East
Timor communities can also have the additional problem of salt- water intrusion
into wells.
2. The main problems with
water quantity and quality management;
¨ Imbalance between
the demand for water and the capacity of water supply.
¨ Decrease in water
quality and quantity during the dry season which is caused by disposal of
domestic and industrial waste.
¨ The increase in
soil erosion and sedimentation caused by poor condition of vegetation in the
catchment area, which eventually results in sedimentation and lower storage
capacity of reservoirs.
The decrease in water
quality and quantity, and increased sedimentation of reservoirs will result in
negative impacts on the national Water and Sanitation Strategy, because it will
increase operational costs for the water treatment plants.
Water quality has become one
of the dominant problems in the management of water resources, so that the
principal objective of water managers is to protect the quality of water
resources.
Protection of water quality
must be based on a master plan, which must among other things, include water
quality standards and continuous monitoring.
The monitoring and reporting
must be reliable, because it will be used for the preparation of measures to
improve water quality.
If water quality is
improved, limited water quantity can be utilized to fulfill various needs and
water saving efforts can also be accomplished.
The scope of the Master Plan
should include the following basic requirements;
1. Consistent with
the government policies, programs, laws, and regulations.
2. All the sector
programs must consist of watershed management, water quality and quantity management,
flood control management and river environment management.
3. Water demand
forecasts by domestic, agriculture, industry, and river management sectors, and
other sectors that have water requirements.
4. Water resources
development programs.
5. Comprehensive
programs for realizing equal access to water for all inhabitants living in the
basin.
6. Environment
assessment, requirements and methodologies.
Water is vital for life. Water resources should be conserved and kept in a sustainable condition both from a quality and quantity point of view.
One way is to carry out water resources quality and quantity management in accordance with a master plan, which has been set up to control and reverse the of degradation of water resources.