In June of 2013, the Marshall and Mariana Islands experienced a severe drought due to the El Nino climate event, which was caused by the lack of rainfall and a prolonged dry season. From 1989 to 2013, Saipan, a Northern Mariana Island, had the eighth driest year overall in the entire world. It was not until 2016 that President Barack Obama and the Marshallese Government declared the drought a national disaster, which allowed emergency United States funding for the Pacific island nation. In total, the U.S. government provided $5.5 million in drought relief to the Marshall Islands. The drought most impacted the residents of the islands because of the high risk of being swamped by constantly rising sea levels, which could threaten infrastructure and ruin drinking water due to high salt levels. This forced people to drink from coconuts and eat unripe fruit to avoid unsafe salt consumption, water catchments became clogged, and fish became scarce because fishermen could not travel far out to sea without drinking water for long hours. The island’s water turned brackish and could not be used for crop irrigation, plus the National Disaster Management Office found the groundwater too salty for humans to ingest large amounts without health risks. Residents who had been drinking the water 48 hours before had reported experiencing health conditions such as gastritis, diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal pain, fever, and hepatitis. According to the meteorologist Chip Guard, there was even a risk of death.
Currently, the 50,000 people who live in the Marshall Islands are able to move to the United States to work without a Visa, following an agreement made between the two countries. The latest update from the U.S. Drought Monitoring Report states, “Some islands have not received rain for the past 3 to 6 months and indicate a deteriorating drought situation since January 2024.” With the help of the National Disaster Management Office (NDMO), the National Emergency Operations Committee (NEOC), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the drinking water issue was resolved with the creation of the Immediate Drought Response Plan for critical conditions. In 2013, the Marshallese government did its best to install several desalination units. However, these machines are costly to obtain and run continuously; a typical diesel-fueled generator is generally able to produce between $30,000 and $75,000 per year in fuel costs. All of these relief response projects are expected to be done around 2027 to 2030. The first lot of Rainwater Harvesting System materials, the RMI Water Security Project, is designed with climate resilience measures, robust water storage solutions, and disaster preparedness plans. The ACWA Project is a commitment to its citizens’ fundamental right to clean drinking water. Communities on the island, including the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), are moving towards enhancing water security to ensure access to clean and sustainable drinking water. On September 27th, a ceremony took place to install Rainwater Harvesting Systems in 115 communities across the 24 islands. This initiative addressed water scarcity challenges, and they showed solidarity.
If current trends in water scarcity persist, thousands of children and families in the Pacific will be left without critical, life-saving WASH services (Water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services). Reports on this subject report that the most vulnerable people are children and families. The acceleration of WASH coverage will require high levels of prioritization of decision-making by international agencies, governments, civil society, and the private sector because service is only being given to the areas suffering the most from the drought. This means families outside of the areas experiencing the most intense water scarcity are suffering without services supplying water. Throughout the years, the Marshall and Mariana Islands continue to experience droughts, but due to the creation of WASH services, people are required to have the necessary access to clean drinking water that they deserve.