Bermuda’s highly visible water feature you don’t notice

In Bermuda, like most of the Caribbean islands, there are far too many people for the amount of water easily available on the islands. No cheap or easy desalination options exist.

If you’ve been there, you probably noticed the white roofs made of limestone. These are actually a very old feature dating back to the 1600s — and some of the roofs are hundreds of years old. They are an ingenious feature meant to catch rain and sequester it underground for use, and it’s one of the reasons the island is habitable by so many people. All homes are required to have this type of roof and water that lands on each roof is redirected to underground tanks that are used to provide water to those on the island.

While you visit, please be conscious that the Bermudans are doing all this to get fresh water on the island. While they have desalination plants now, it is still helpful to conserve water while you visit because these plants are quite expensive.