In Dharavandhoo, as summers sear and monsoons falter, and as more guesthouses spring up to meet the rise in tourism, the need for freshwater has become even more critical.

Local Council Member, Ali Shafeeq says he has had to request emergency water supplies every single year.

“The first time the island’s groundwater became contaminated was during the 2004 tsunami. At that time, we managed to provide every household in Dharavandhoo with water storage tanks, to properly collect and store rainwater. These tanks are rarely used now. You need rainfall to harvest rainwater.”

— Ali Shafeeq

In the last few years it has not rained as much as it used to in the past, he says. “This is very unusual. The groundwater quality is now so bad I don’t even risk my children brushing their teeth with it. We use store bought water.”

At his resort, Sidey says, guests complain about the putrid odour of the aquifer’s water. “Even if we oxygenate it, to try to reduce the smell, it does not make much of a difference.” He serves bottled water for drinking and admits it is not ideal because it increases costs and the use of plastic but he has no other options.

Now to help communities adapt to the changing situation, the government of the Maldives, supported by UNDP, is building an integrated water management system that will provide freshwater year-round to numerous islands.

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