Climate Resilience of the Water Sector in The Bahamas

The project addresses the vulnerability of The Bahamas' water sector to hurricanes, storm surges, and sea level rise, which threaten the nation's primary natural freshwater source: shallow groundwater lenses. The proposal outlines a strategy to shift the national water utility, Water and Sewerage Corporation (WSC), away from a costly and financially unsustainable reliance on reverse osmosis (RO) desalination toward the sustainable use of climate-resilient groundwater. This will be achieved through three main outputs: strengthening national water policy and legislation, establishing a national water resources monitoring network and management unit (WRMU) with a decision support system (DSS), and implementing physical infrastructure upgrades across six priority islands. The project aims to benefit 415,000 people, with 215,273 receiving direct infrastructure improvements.

• The Bahamas is highly vulnerable to climate change due to its low-lying geography, with 83% of the country situated less than 5 metres above sea level, exposing the population to cyclone-strength winds, storm surges, and inland flooding.
• The nation's primary natural freshwater source, shallow groundwater lenses, is extremely fragile and threatened by reduced recharge from rising temperatures, sea level rise, and salinisation from storm surges.
• The Water and Sewerage Corporation (WSC) is financially unsustainable due to a heavy reliance on expensive reverse osmosis (RO) desalination, which accounted for 81% of produced water by 2022 and 49% of operating expenses (OPEX).
• The project will establish a national Water Resources Management Unit (WRMU) and a Decision Support System (DSS) to provide the technical capacity and data needed for climate-informed water management.
• Infrastructure investments will target six priority islands—South Andros, Mangrove Cay, North and Central Andros, Abaco, Acklins, and the Windsor Wellfield in New Providence—focusing on climate-proofing pumping stations, increasing storage, and reducing water loss.
• The project aims to achieve a paradigm shift by moving the water sector toward a sustainable financial model where reduced RO dependency and tariff reforms enable the utility to fund its own climate-resilient capital expenditures.
• Total financing for the project is USD 65.199 million, consisting of a USD 37.506 million GCF grant, a USD 12.546 million GCF concessional loan, a USD 12.546 million CDB loan, and USD 2.602 million in in-kind contributions from WSC.

APA

Green Climate Fund (2026). Climate Resilience of the Water Sector in The Bahamas. https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/fp298.pdf

Chicago

Green Climate Fund. Climate Resilience of the Water Sector in The Bahamas. 2026. https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/fp298.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Green Climate Fund |title=Climate Resilience of the Water Sector in The Bahamas |date=17 April 2026 |url=https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/fp298.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{greenclimatefund2026climate, author = {{Green Climate Fund}}, title = {{Climate Resilience of the Water Sector in The Bahamas}}, institution = {Green Climate Fund}, year = {2026}, month = apr, url = {https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/fp298.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }