Dams still low

Already one month into the 2019 wet season, Public Utilities Minister Robert Le Hunte is one again pleading with citizens to conserve water as levels at the nation’s dams are still below normal levels. And gesturing to the Navet Dam during a tour of the Tabaquite facility yesterday, Le Hunte said a conservation target of ten per cent of the 240 million gallons of water produced per day would solve the nation’s water woes.

“The whole message of conservation continue to be important and we have calculated, Trinidad we produce about 240 million gallons of water per day, a 10 per cent reduction, via all the little things that we do, that is 24 million gallons of water, and therefore if we have 24 million gallons of water, the one billion dollar project that we spent was only going to give us 10 million gallons of water so 24 million gallons of water more in the system will solve all the problems.”

“So, therefore, the cheapest way for the country to get that 24 million gallons of water is by the whole of the population cutting back and conserving, just 10 per cent and we will be in a much better place.”Le Hunte admitted due to the severe dry season, the utility experienced challenges in getting water to such places as parts of Penal/ Debe, Siparia and Mayaro and this has not improved with the onset of the 2019 wet season as June rain levels has been below average.

“I have been having a lot of complaints and the reason why I am here really is because we have been getting an increase in the number of complaints, especially from some of the MPs and the regional corporations, so I have been in contact with Dr Sammy, the MP from Mayaro and we recognise again we are having some challenges in those areas.”

He said the dry season has also affected a major Mayaro well which initially produced some 500,000 gallons of water, but which now has seawater. And using WASA Ag CEO Alan Poon King’s 30 -ear service at the utility as a benchmark, he said the 2019 dry season was the worst ever experienced in TT.

“What we are experiencing here in TT with regard to this levels, this is probably, Mr Poon King has been working in WASA for about 30 years and this is the worst he has ever seen, we have never been at this level ever or low level in the Navet dam before.”

He said production at the Navet Dam is about 10 million gallons as compared to a normal average of 22 million gallons. Le Hunte said the utility has sought to redirect water from the Caroni Water treatment plant to supplement the shortfall in water production in other areas.

However, he noted that this would mean a change in the water schedule as certain areas which receive water on 24/5 basis would be reduced to a 24/4 basis.He said the Caroni facility is also below normal production levels of 75 million gallons to some 50 million gallons of water.