Ronald Williams
- Environmental Engineer

The story of Ronald Williams’ rise to excellence in environmental engineering is a tale of perseverance, pragmatism and progress. He founded the Caribbean Water and Wastewater Association (CWWA) and was an architect of the Caribbean Environmental Health Institute (CEHI). He also worked with the World Health Organisation (WHO) in Africa, the Caribbean and Latin America.

Ronald André Williams was born on 15th July, 1929 in Port of Spain, Trinidad. He was the third son of C.L. Williams and Lily Williams née Deane. He attended the Rosary Boy’s R.C. School from 1934 to 1940, where he recalls that headmaster Roberts - called “Beetle” by the students - “gave the boys pressure”, but kept them on track towards attaining their academic goals. The staff at the school all contributed to this end and many teachers commanded respect and treated students with respect. Williams enjoyed his childhood, getting to school at 7 a.m. to play with his friends before classes began and later on enjoying class excursions to the picturesque Queen’s Park Savannah. He was an ambitious student, who one day walked down Frederick Street, along the St. Mary’s College walls, touched them and said, “This is my future”.

In 1940, Williams realised his dream of attending this top boys’ college. At St Mary’s, he participated fully in the school life, joining the school’s football and cricket teams and rising to the rank of vice-captain in both teams. As a hot-blooded youth, he had divided attentions in high school; he got top marks in mathematics with ease, but seemed to forget the importance of the other subjects! Aside from sport, which was a natural distraction, his work was also confounded by schoolgirls and the “liming” fraternity!

Williams left school in 1946 and joined the Civil Service, working as a government clerk. He recalls breaking into tears in 1950 on the day of his 21st birthday, thinking to himself that this was not what he wanted in life. He knew that he could have achieved and contributed more to the society than he would contribute as a government clerk. One afternoon, while he was looking at a hockey match at the Savannah, Williams decided that he wanted to study in Toronto. After consulting with an older brother on the discipline he should select and borrowing some funds from his younger brother Jack, he headed off to St. Michael’s College, a Catholic college in Canada, to pursue his future in environmental engineering in 1953. He was 24 years old.

At the University of Toronto, Williams read for his first degree in environmental engineering. There, he maintained his participation in sports and also played on the University of Toronto football team for six years, holding the captaincy for four. In his final year as an undergraduate student in 1958, he presented a thesis entitled Disposal of Septic Tank Effluent in Sub-Surface Absorption Fields, a topic carefully chosen after he learned about the content of the following year’s Master’s degree programme. Also, his brother at home had communicated to him information on the pending retirement of the Sanitation Engineer, and the forward-thinking Williams thought he would be wise to properly prime himself to take his place! He graduated with First Class Honours and went on immediately to do his Master’s degree on the topic Sanitary Engineering in the Public Health Programme. After graduating in 1959, he returned to Trinidad and took up the post of Sanitation Engineer.

Williams made several major contributions to his country as a Sanitation Engineer. He supervised the Island-Wide Sewerage Scheme, managed the Privy Construction Scheme in San Fernando and was a member of the Water and Sewerage Authority establishment team. In 1962, Williams came across an advertisement from the World Health Organisation (WHO) for an Environmental Health Engineer with three years experience. Having just gained that amount of experience, Williams decided to apply. He was hired.

Past Presidents of the Caribbean Water and Wastewater Association (CWWA)

Williams enjoyed a seven year stint with this international organisation, moving with his family – his wife Paddy, and his three sons Wayne, Curt and Clint - through Bhagdad, Iraq, to Alexandria, Egypt and finally to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Apart from performing advisory roles in each of these countries and taking part in country projects, he gained experience in tutoring and lecturing at the college and university levels.

Upon his return to Trinidad in 1970, Williams was immediately called upon to serve the Government. He was the Project Manager for the consultants on the Caroni-Arena Water Supply Project in Trinidad and the Navet Pumped Storage Project. He was also the Chairman of the Pollution Control Council set up by the Ministry of Health and a Member of the National Conservation Council set up by the Ministry of Planning and Development. In 1978, Williams was invited by PAHO/WHO to prepare a paper on Preliminary Proposals for a Caribbean Centre for Environmental Health for a PAHO/CARICOM Environmental Strategy Conference/Workshop. The proposals were successful and when the Caribbean Environmental Health Institute (CEHI) was established in St. Lucia, he assisted in the early years of its development when he returned to the WHO in 1979. He left the Centre in 1989 but continued his service to the WHO.

During this second period of service to the WHO, Williams was initially based in Jamaica, but travelled extensively throughout the Caribbean and Latin America. He was promoted to Caribbean Engineer in 1981 and served the region through the Caribbean Co-ordinator’s office in Barbados. He had a major role in founding the Caribbean Water and Wastewater Association, serving as President of the Association for a time. During his term, the President of the Inter-American Association of Sanitary and Environmental Engineers, the President of PAHO and Williams himself initiated the celebration of Inter-American Water Day in 1992, which has now been extended to a week or month in some countries. Williams is currently Chairman of the Awards Committee of the Association.

Ronald Williams is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Water and Environmental Management of the United Kingdom and a Member of the Association of Professional Engineers of Trinidad and Tobago. He is a Joint Founder of ReCaribe, the Wider Caribbean Solid Waste and Recycling Alliance. He has contributed over 40 years of service in his field of Environmental Engineering. He describes his contribution in a personal motto based his father’s words: “To live is to serve”. He reflects this philosophy in his continuing willingness to share his knowledge and expertise and to serve Government, Non-Governmental Organisations and anyone who calls upon him for assistance. Williams is always eager to participate in workshops, seminars, and conferences. He values exchanges and discussions as means of sharing information.

The philosophy of living and serving transcends his chosen field of engineering. Williams is an active member of the Lions Service Club of Port of Spain Central. He was the founder and First President of the Society for the Conservation, Appreciation and Promotion of the Environment (SCAPE), and was once the Executive Director of the Caribbean Forest Conservation Association. He was also an avid character ‘mas’ player in Carnival bands brought out by the late Edmund Hart, Harold Saldenha, and Mavericks and served as a Carnival Bands judge on two occasions.

Though he considers himself as having “started late”, Williams advocates that young persons should have some exposure to the world of work before they move on to university. This, he believes, contributes to a more disciplined approach to studies and a better understanding of the realities and demands of life. He also feels that students who have no exposure to subjects outside of their “pet” areas need to broaden their perspective. In this vein, he has made one-man approaches to various educational institutions including the Ministry of Education and his alma mater to advocate the broadening of curricula, to expose all students to geography, history and other topics that would affect their lives. Williams has also recommended that past pupils’ organisations should provide mentoring lectures and sessions to current students, giving them a snapshot of life after school and life in the work world.

To the younger generation, Williams proposes one watchword: focus. There are many distractions for young people in today’s world, but investments today pay off in the future. He credits the support of his family and his strong religious upbringing with shaping him into the person he is today.

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CCST Secretariat
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