Le Hunte: Those with water, conserve for those without

PUBLIC Utilities Minister Robert Le Hunte says people who have a good supply of water should conserve for the benefit of those who do not.

He made the comment during a telephone interview with Newsday on Friday.

Asked if people have been responding positively to calls to conserve water because of the very harsh dry season and reduced national water supply, Le Hunte said there was no empirical evidence of that at this point. He explained water conservation was difficult to track because there are no water meters, and this makes demand-management activities, which include conservation, difficult and need to be put in place.

He added: "If you are experiencing difficulties for water, it would be a lot worse if you didn't conserve."

He reported WASA normally operates at 240 million gallons a day. but was down to 210 million. The dams were down by about 20-25 per cent but the Navet Dam was affected most and was bordering at around 30 per cent lower than usual.

"This is why certain areas are impacted differently."

Le Hunte said there is water available, but it must be managed with projections and working with the Met Office.

"We can take all the water today and satisfy everyone's demand – but then we will have a crisis."

He said WASA continues to look at the situation and do some tweaking.

He pointed out some areas have gone from water 24/7 to four days a week, and this may still be adjusted downwards to spread the supply around.

"It will mean everyone will have a part to play. Even if people have water, if they conserve, it means there is water in the system to pump to someone else."