Le Hunte: First half of dry season may be less harsh than 2019

PUBLIC Utilities Minister Robert Le Hunte says preliminary projections for this month show the first half of the dry season may not be as harsh as last year's.

He told Newsday, in a phone interview, the reservoir levels as at December 31 were better than the averages during 2019.

He explained, the dams on that date were not at the long-term average level, but thanks to prudence – together with surges in weather, "We ended up a lot better than we were trending to be."

He stressed that while the ministry expected the levels to be worse, on December 31 they were still below the long-term average.

"The bottom line continues to be conservation and managing long-term resources."

As at December 31, the levels were:

Hollis Dam 81.53 per cent compared to the long-term average capacity (LTA) of 94.58 per cent

Arena in Caroni 78.75 per cent, LTA 94.59 per cent

Navet 92.28 per cent. LTA 94.72 per cent

Hillsborough in Tobago 100 per cent. LTA 97.71 per cent.

As at January 9, the levels of three dams had decreased since December 31, but there was a slight increase at the Arena dam.

The levels were:

Hollis 80.4 per cent, LTA 94 per cent

Arena 78.13 per cent, LTA 94.72 per cent

Navet 91.98 per cent, LTA 95.11 per cent

Hillsborough 99.47 per cent. LTA 96.96 per cent.

Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management CEO Major Gen (Retired) Rodney Smart spoke about possible drought conditions this year and suggested people should buy water tanks and get fire insurance.