[UPDATED] WATER DAM LOW

THE Hollis Reservoir in Valencia, which is the chief source of water for hundreds of thousands in communities throughout North East and Eastern Trinidad is experiencing a major shortfall of 700 million gallons despite the country being in the middle of the rainy season.

It’s a situation which CEO of the Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) Alan Poon King has described as “uncomfortably low” especially given this time of the rainy season.

During a visit to the reservoir yesterday, ironically at the same time when torrential rainfall was lashing parts of West Trinidad and Port of Spain, leading to flash flooding, Poon King said this reservoir with a capacity of one billion gallons, is now down to a mere 300 million gallons. He said this is an unusual scenario when compared to previous years.

There are four main reservoirs with Hollis being the oldest. Next is Arena which supports the Caroni/Arena water treatment plant, Navet in central Trinidad which services south-east Trinidad and Hillsborough in Tobago.

Poon King said Hollis and Navet remain areas of concern for WASA. With showers earlier in the week being welcomed news for Hollis, Poon King warned that the reservoir’s water level is so low that whatever rainfall was collected this week will be used up by human consumption and evaporation caused by extremely hot weather conditions.

He cautioned the nation that water conservation is absolutely vital if WASA is to manage its already low reserves with the 2020 dry season a few months away.

“We are at 45 to 50 per cent at this plant which has a capacity of 8.4 million gallons per day (mgd). We are currently putting out about four mgd. Navet, which operates at 20 mgd, is doing ten mgd, and Caroni which is supported by Arena, is fluctuating between 60-70 mgd compared to the average of 75 mgd.

“Overall, our production has been fluctuating between 200 and 210 mgd compared to 242 mgd. So we have a shortfall that would vary between 20 and 30 mgd. A such, the water schedules we have put in place will remain in force and water use restrictions also remain in force.”

This means, TT, no use of water hoses, no water fetes, no bikini car washes, no power-washing, no checking WhatsApp while brushing teeth with the faucet running, and other wasteful forms of consumption.

He said WASA is having more wells sourced to have ground water available. He said the desalination sources of water are more resilient in the dry season, but he said there will be a significant shut down at the Desalcott plant in Pt Lisas in a couple of weeks, which will further impact on the current water availability scenario.

Poon King also urged customers to pay their water bills, since water management, water treatment and water distribution cannot be done free of charge. “We want to ensure people pay their bills as we need the funds to treat and distribute the water. We ask people to work with the Authority so that all can benefit.” It’s a simple thing, pay your bill to avoid disconnection.

He said WASA’s rates are already low when compared to rates in other Caribbean countries yet because people are lax in paying their bills, the company has racked up debt in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

“The message is you need to do your part. The rates equate to just about the maximum that you can pay for a residential property, about $3 per day. WASA has a responsibility, but customers have a responsibility as well,” he pointed out. He said as an authority regulated by the Regulated Industries Commission, customers are given two billing periods grace.

“If you receive your bill every month then you have two months to pay. If you receive it every three months you have six months grace. If not, then we will contact you and encourage you to pay your bill and the next step will be disconnection. Ultimately it can go as far as sale of property towards recovery of rates,” he said.

This story was originally published with the title "Water level still low at Hollis Reservoir" and has been adjusted to include additional details. See original post below.

CEO of WASA Alan Poon King said the water level at the Hollis Reservoir was still uncomfortably low.

During a visit to the Valencia reservoir today, Poon King said the low water level was unusual for this time of year when compared to previous years.

The reservoir has a capacity of one billion gallons but now stands at 300 million gallons, a shortfall of 700 million gallons.

The CEO repeated calls for citizens to conserve water and be responsible.

He added that while WASA was responsible for distributing water, there were costs attached and called on customers to pay their bills.

He said customers had two billing periods before they were disconnected.

Poon King said WASA' s intent was not to disconnect, but to encourage payment.