A ground-water reconnaissance of the Jacmel-Meyer Bench, Haiti

The Jacmel-Meyer bench lies on the south coast of the southern peninsula of Haiti in the Department de l'Ouest. Jacmel, at the west end of the bench, is about 40 kilometers airline southwest of Port-au-Prince.

In the early part of January 1949, the writer in company with Mr. Rémy Lemoine made a reconnaissance study of the ground-water conditions of the bench. The object of the reconnaissance was to determine the availability of ground water for irrigation of the bench as well as for the public water supply of Jacmel. Irrigation is practiced on the bench, bu the existing water supplies are insufficient to cover all irrigable lands. Jacmel is at present supplied with water from a pipe line that delivers the flow of several developed springs to the city by gravity. However, this supply is inadequate and probably at times is contaminated.