… only three inches of rainfall for last six weeks
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, Mar. 20.2018 – THE Water Services Department is urging citizens and residents to be mindful of how they use water, as the federation is now experiencing a dry spell that has resulted in several areas seeing periods of rationing.
Currently, residents of Cayon, St. Peters and the surrounding areas are experiencing water rationing.
Consumers in Basseterre, Bird Rock, Half Moon and the South East Peninsula were placed under rationing from yesterday (Mar. 19), according to the Water Services Department.
Water Services Manager, Dennison Paul in an SKNVibes interview today (Mar. 20), explained that the federation only saw three inches of rainfall between January to March, and that has resulted in the further depletion of the water reserves.
“Over the last six weeks, we had little or no rainfall, so our storage levels have dropped precipitously. So, to maintain service during peak demand hours – that is usually between 6:00 a.m. to about 10:00 a.m., about 4:00 p.m. to about late in the evening – we are rationing so that service can be provided during those hours.”
Over the last several years, the federation experienced high levels of drought which resulted in island-wide rationing.
Paul disclosed that the federation is out of the drought, explaining that St. Kitts and Nevis typically sees 55 inches of rainfall per year, but at the end of 2015 the federation recorded 25 inches of rainfall, in 2016 35 inches while in 2017 there was approximately 60 inches.
The 2015/2016 drought left the federation’s water supply in a deficit which is still impacting the water reserve, Paul noted.
“So far, around this time of the year we would have about 8 inches of rain and we have had about 3 inches. So, this dry season has been drier than usual,” he stated.
On Sunday (Mar. 18), the government agency began the rationing, starting in the St. Peters areas.
However, the rationing is expected to last for several more weeks, with the engineer expecting the rainy season to begin in late April to early May.
