- St Vincent Water Crisis Intensifies, Rationing Expands
- CWSA Urges Public to Conserve Amidst Limited Water Availability
Water in the faucets will rely on how well residents adhere to conservation measures, according to CWSA Manager Winsbert Quow, who says the firm is unable to predict when regular water service would resume nationwide. Quow stated that despite the call for conservation measures, individuals have been defying them, prompting the company to look at the possibility of initiating legal action for the public’s benefit.
According to data from the Dalaway water system, which supplies around 40% of the company’s customers, Quow stated during a news conference on Tuesday that the rainfall average for the months of February, March, and April of this year is significantly lower than it was for the preceding five years.
”For example, in February, it was 74.26% reduction; in March, it was about 49% reduction; and in April, it was just about 55% reduction. So we have a reduction in rainfall, but we also have seen an increase in temperatures based on the data that we’ve collected so far for the month of March. The temperature for March is about two degrees above what is average for that month. So you’re seeing the compounding effect of reduced rainfall and increased temperature. And that’s what’s driving the low water availability.”
”We’ve seen it in our stream flows as well, for example, in Dalaway. And I will just focus on it because of the size of that system. From February to April, stream flow has been steadily decreasing. So in February, it was about 1.54 million gallons. And in April, we are seeing it at just about 1.1 million gallons. So a reduction of 29%.”
Quow stated that despite rationing and the fact that we are in the dry season, data gathered on Tuesday indicates that consumption has not changed substantially.
“Before we started rationing in April, the average consumption for March was approximately 2.5 million gallons. On Saturday, May 11th, we observed a consumption of 2.2 million gallons, which was during the peak of the rationing period”.
“The phenomenon that I’m seeing happening is that when the water goes, you know, as soon as it comes back, our behaviours do the same things. What’s highlighted as well is that during the dry season, we tend to use more water because it is dusty. So we want to wash our cars more. We want to water our lawns and our flowers. Some people even want to wash down their homes because of the dust. Now that’s just exacerbating the problem.”
According to Quow, technicians have been making every effort to ration water so that residents can get it, if only briefly, during the day.
“It’s a 24-hour operation, in particular one of our systems. They must switch every half hour throughout the day. So, someone is monitoring that system. They’ve been doing a good job just trying to keep water available to our customers. But it’s not an effort that we can make by ourselves to get through this. We’ll need everyone’s cooperation and understanding.”
Supervisors, according to Quow, are still seeing people wash their cars with hoses. During this period, they are even power washing pavements.
”I was driving home yesterday, and I saw someone using a hose in public to wash their SUV. Now, our legislation gives us the authority to take measures to reduce water waste. Of course, if we see that happening, we’ll be sensitive. We’ll speak to you first. However, if this practice continues, we may need to implement measures to restrict your supply in order to benefit the public”.
According to Quow, in an effort to boost the resource’s availability, CWSA has been carrying out projects and programmes throughout the years to attempt and increase storage and locate new water sources.
“We don’t produce water. We depend on the rain. You know, that is a God-given resource. So even if there’s no rain, despite our infrastructure, we can still have a situation where there is low water availability. However, we also need you to do your part. Make an effort to use water more sparingly and implement a storage system in your homes”.
Regarding fresh water supplies, the CWSA manager stated that in addition to exploring groundwater in the Marriaqua and Vermont Valleys, the company plans to start building its first solar-powered water extraction system in the island’s north.
On Monday, May 13, 2024, the CWSA deemed five water supply systems essential. Majorca, Jennings, John Hill, Mamoon, Montreal, and Dalaway are them.
As of right now, CWSA’s pipeline network length exceeds 400 miles.
