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Business View Caribbean
The Water Authority of
the Cayman Islands
Supplier of the island’s water
“This is a small island,” says Tom van Zanten, Deputy
Director of the Water Authority of the Cayman Islands,
“and traditionally, most residents collected rainwater
or used fresh groundwater from individual wells. How-
ever, the availability of fresh groundwater on Grand
Cayman was limited in extent and, due to over-usage
and pollution, became even scarcer. By the early
1980s, with the surge in tourism, and commercial and
residential developments, there was an increased de-
mand for a reliable source of clean water.”
To respond to this need, the government of the Cay-
man Islands formed the Water and Sewerage Project
Office in 1981. Its mission was to create a plan for a
single body with the responsibility for all water-related
matters in the country, plus the capability of provid-
ing the necessary public facilities to achieve that aim.
In early 1983, the Water and Sewerage Project Office
presented its plan to the government, and soon there-
after, the Water Authority of the Cayman Islands was
established as a statutory body with the passage of
the Water Authority Law.
