BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – WITH less than four percent of the average rainfall recorded over the past month, officials of the Water Department are pleading with consumers to try their best to conserve on water, especially with the island experiencing “an extended dry spell”.
Acting Manager of the Water Department Denison Paul told SKNVibes that for the month of May, 2015, a paltry 0.2 inches of rain was recorded, which is grossly below the five inches average recorded each year for the past five years.
With rainfall being one of the main sources of potable water and the dry spell expected to continue into July, Paul explained that at this stage there needs to be greater concerted efforts to preserve whatever water is currently available.
“The problem is that the forecast is it should last a while longer, maybe up to July. And so we are in a situation, particularly our consumers who get their water from surface supplies, from the springs such as Green Hill, Wingfield, Stone Fort and so forth.”
SKNVibes received a complaint from an individual who claimed to be a resident of Saddlers, which suggested that the water shortage in the area was severe.
“The residents of Saddlers get their water from the Phillip’s Village area, so the villages all the way from Phillip’s, Molyneaux, Mansion all the way down to Tabernacle and all the way to Saddlers rely on that source. So it means that Saddlers is at the very end of that system, and so we have very little rainfall. Our inflows from the surface sources are very low! We get about 60 percent of what we usually get and so Saddlers being at the end of that system gets little or nothing,” Paul explained.
He added that the situation in that area should be improving, especially with the measures that the Water Department has put in place, including the trucking of water to the Saddlers Reservoir.
Striking a water-usage comparison with neighbouring Antigua, Paul informed that the 80 000-population island uses approximately 5,000,000 gallons of water per day and St. Kitts, which has a population of only 43.75 percent of Antigua’s, uses 5,500,000 gallons of water per day.
Additionally, he indicated that half of that amount is unaccounted for and or wasted.
“In St. Kitts we were not able to account for close to 50 percent of the water we produce. Some of it may be used to leaks or government institutions that are not metered, but the fact is that the Water Department receives no money for close to 50 percent of the water it produces. As I said, a lot of it is wasted from the standpipes etc.”
The Acting Manager suggested that individuals and households should employ the following to conserve on water:
• This is no time to irrigate grass. Use water only for essential purposes which include washing and bathing;
• Avoid washing cars with water hoses;
• Avoid cleaning drains with water hoses;
• Avoid irrigating grass and lawns at this time;
• Wash large loads of clothing. You use less water and less energy if you wash large loads of clothing rather than multiple small loads; and
• Avoid lengthy showers.
Paul expressed that while there are some areas which are affected more than others, he is appealing to the entire island to conserve water.
“Island-wide, I want to stress to all our consumers that we need to conserve water. There are areas that are particularly affected. Saddlers is one…we had Cedar Grove, the higher areas of Cayon. Gradually, some of these areas are improving but the long-term forecast is that this type of situation is going to be with us for a while. So we are appealing to our people that that is not good enough to waste 50 percent of the water we produce. That says something not very good about us and I know that we can do better.”
He said stricter rationing schedules would be imposed if the situation does not improve.
“The only way we can deal with that situation is for the people who have water to conserve it, and those who get water to conserve and not waste the water. If we continue operating the way we are now, we would have to impose more rationing in other communities and none of us wants that.”
