On the Caribbean island of Barbuda, there are 2,000 people, 250 freshwater wells and around 8,000 donkeys, as well as a number of feral hogs and goats.
But that is not what surprised Jason Hubbart, a West Virginia University hydrology and water quality professor who also serves as director of WVU’s Institute for Water Security and Science, when he visited Barbuda for a week last month.
It was the innate goodness of the people he met during his week-long stay.
“They understand what it is to be a good human,” said Hubbart during a recent interview. “They care deeply about the island and need help.”
“It was an honor and very humbling.”
Barbuda, part of the Caribbean nation of Antigua and Barbuda, needs help.
Much of the island — separate from Antigua — was devastated by Hurricane Irma in 2017. Winds reaching 185 mph wreaked havoc and damaged roughly 90% of the structures on the island. Most of the people living in Barbuda evacuated to nearby Antigua, which was hardly touched by the hurricane.
Barbuda officials became aware of Hubbart’s expertise through Jean Meade, owner of Cheat Lake Animal Hospital who is also an adjunct professor at WVU’s Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design. Meade traveled to Barbuda to help local officials with its donkey population.
It is illegal to kill a donkey in Barbuda and as a result, the number of animals continues to rise.
“They don’t eat the donkeys,” said Hubbart, adding it was typical to hear braying at night. “They’re part of the island.”
Hubbart became involved with Barbuda in 2018 when he was asked by island officials — because of Meade’s introduction — to study and assess its existing fresh water resources. Barbuda officials want to know what kind of water resources it has available to be able to grow its own food. Water supplies have never been tested on the island.
“The typical fresh water well in Barbuda is only 6 feet deep,” he said.
Also complicating matters in Barbuda, are the roaming donkeys and to a lesser extent, the goats and hogs. No one knows if the wells are contaminated.
“They need to do something. They’re not sure how much water they can pump.”
Adding to the problem is that the 2,000 residents are dependent on bottled water. Hubbart said a bottle of water in Barbuda sells for $2 to $3.
“They’re not affluent,” Hubbart said. “The average salary is $300 to $400 a week.”
Planning to return
Hubbart is hopeful of returning to the island in the spring for two weeks, when he will test the wells and find out what — if anything — is lurking in the water.
He is working with Hach Co., a Colorado manufacturer and distributor of analytical instruments and reagents used to test the quality of water and other liquid solutions to develop a water-testing kit that would sell for under $100.
“We’ll get research-grade results,” said Hubbart, adding he is looking for results that could hold up in court, if need be.
Hubbart’s reasoning behind getting research-grade results is the growing chasm between Antigua and Barbuda about how development should be handled in the island country, which gained its independence in 1981.
According to the nonprofit North American Congress on Latin America, Barbuda is one of the few places in the Caribbean with undamaged sites covering more than 5,000 years of human history. Island residents are proud of that fact, Hubbart said.
Barbuda wants to preserve its natural resources and hold development at bay and that has led to court battles. The trouble, however, is that the nation’s central government is in Antigua, which is pro development and dependent on tourism dollars, like much of the Caribbean.
“The development is going to come,” he said.
Hubbart said when many of the residents returned to their homes on Barbuda following Hurricane Irma they found the Antiguan government had built an airport runway.
Hubbart needs to raise $35,000 to return to the island and test each well. He is hoping to have some graduate students accompany him for the project.
To finance the trip, Hubbart has applied for a grant from the National Geographic Society, and is trying to raise other funds.
“This institution has an amazing opportunity to help these people,” Hubbart said.
To donate to Hubbert’s Barbuda project, send a check to the WVU Foundation, 1 Waterfront Place, 7th Floor, Morgantown, WV 26501. Write Barbuda Project on the notation line.
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