Against a backdrop of growing climate vulnerability across small island nations, Grenada has announced it will welcome hundreds of global and regional stakeholders as the official host of the 35th Annual Caribbean Water and Wastewater Association (CWWA) Conference and Exhibition, scheduled to take place October 12–16, 2026 at the Radisson Grenada Beach Resort. Positioned as a landmark gathering for advancing regional action on water security, climate adaptation, and circular waste management, the event will transform the Spice Isle into a central hub for cross-sector dialogue, innovative solution sharing, and collective action.
convened under the official theme *One Caribbean, Transitioning to a Value-Driven Future*, the conference will draw a diverse cohort of participants, ranging from cabinet ministers and senior policymakers to utility leaders, engineering specialists, technical researchers, development partners, private sector investors, and other key stakeholders from across the Caribbean and beyond. For the 2026 edition, the National Water and Sewerage Authority (Nawasa) and the Grenada Solid Waste Management Authority (GSWMA) will serve as local co-hosts, working in close partnership with the CWWA regional body.
Founded via an act of parliament in Trinidad and Tobago in 1991, CWWA has grown over 30+ years to become one of the Caribbean’s most influential professional organizations focused on integrated water, wastewater, and solid waste management. For more than three decades, the association has maintained a critical regional platform that enables utilities, national governments, technical experts, regulators, development partners and private stakeholders to exchange cutting-edge knowledge, build institutional and technical capacity, shape evidence-based policy, and advance practical solutions that underpin public health and long-term sustainable development across the region.
Grenada last held the CWWA conference back in 2010, and its return 16 years later marks a key milestone for the island nation to contribute to regional progress on some of the Caribbean’s most urgent environmental and development challenges. The long-standing collaborative relationship between Nawasa and CWWA, paired with GSWMA’s established leadership in national environmental management, creates a robust foundation for the 2026 event. This co-hosting arrangement also highlights the inherent interconnectedness of water security, sanitation access, solid waste governance, and broad environmental sustainability that the conference will center.
As Small Island Developing States (SIDS), Caribbean nations including Grenada remain on the front lines of accelerating climate change, facing increasingly severe extreme weather events, extended drought periods, shifting rainfall patterns, rising average temperatures, and growing threats to critical public infrastructure and natural resources. The catastrophic damage caused by Hurricane Beryl in 2024 brought these systemic vulnerabilities into sharp relief for Grenada, especially in the island dependencies of Carriacou and Petite Martinique, where critical water and public infrastructure suffered extensive damage. That devastating experience reinforced the urgent need to build more robust, adaptive systems that can withstand climate shocks and enable rapid recovery.
While water security is a core pillar of climate resilience, effective solid waste management is equally critical to protecting Grenada’s coastal communities, fragile ecosystems, and tourism-dependent economy. With national waste volumes growing steadily and existing landfill capacity reaching its limits, policymakers and utility leaders across the island are increasingly prioritizing sustainable waste practices including resource recovery, recycling, and waste diversion. These approaches not only reduce pressure on natural ecosystems but also unlock new opportunities for economic value creation. This re-framing of waste from a disposable burden to a reusable, valuable resource directly aligns with the conference’s focus on building a “Value-Driven Future”, while also supporting protection of Grenada’s iconic marine environments, tourism brand, community health, and livelihoods.
Hosting the 35th CWWA conference is projected to deliver wide-ranging benefits for Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique, while also strengthening cross-regional collaboration across the water, wastewater and solid waste sectors. Hundreds of delegates, exhibition partners, technical experts and development stakeholders are expected to travel to Grenada for the week-long event, generating tangible economic activity for local hotels, restaurants, transportation providers, tour operators, small businesses and other local service providers. Beyond immediate economic gains, the event will raise Grenada’s international profile as a capable destination for major regional and international conferences, while giving local professionals direct access to emerging green technologies, global expertise, development partnerships and potential financing for critical infrastructure projects.
For local engineers, technicians, policymakers, and emerging young professionals working across Nawasa, GSWMA and related sectors, the conference will create unique opportunities for cross-border knowledge exchange, professional upskilling, and exposure to proven sustainable solutions already implemented across Caribbean and global contexts.
Speaking at the official media launch for the conference, Grenada Prime Minister and Public Utilities Minister Honourable Dickon Mitchell reaffirmed the national government’s full commitment to delivering a successful event. “The Government stands fully behind Nawasa and GSWMA to deliver a world-class event that reflects Grenada’s warmth and technical professionalism,” Mitchell stated. “Investing in water security and solid waste management across Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique remains central to our national resilience and regional leadership on climate adaptation.”
Candice Santana, President of the Caribbean Water and Wastewater Association, emphasized the strategic value of the 2026 gathering and CWWA’s decades-long role in enabling collaborative regional progress. “For decades, CWWA has provided a unique platform where Caribbean Water Ministers can share challenges, exchange solutions and speak collectively,” Santana noted. “We also bring together utilities, development partners, technical experts and financing opportunities — creating value and building capacity across our national water sectors.”
The 2026 conference will feature a full schedule of programming including technical research presentations, stakeholder panel discussions, industry exhibitions, professional networking sessions and high-level ministerial engagements, all focused on the pressing issues shaping the future of the Caribbean’s water, wastewater and solid waste sectors. More broadly, the event will serve as a critical catalyst to move regional climate and resource conversations beyond problem identification to the delivery of practical, sustainable, investment-ready solutions that strengthen community resilience and improve quality of life for all Caribbean people.