Govt aware of water woes

THE Prime Minister said the main reason flooding did not take place in certain areas during recent rains was because government invested in preventative measures.

Speaking on Wednesday, he said the Caroni River was widened in the last few years and the bank was raised, so there was no flooding in Greenvale. He said some people in TT would still experience flooding

“There were a large percentage of people who live in natural watercourses, some paved and some not, or areas which would be claimed by the river when ten and 20-year flood events occur.

“In the Oropouche area, the water cannot flow out to sea because the area is raised so flooding will take place when it rains and the tide is high. In El Socorro, all the pumps were working during the recent rainfall, and so there was no flooding, but you wouldn’t hear about that. The pumps were there because the government found money and put pumps.”

Rowley said he was aware of concerns being raised by citizens about water shortages but reminded them that the country was in a drought and the country’s largest dam at Arena was at record low levels. “We are rationing water at this point. If we were to continue to supply water at previous levels we would run out of water. This is not to excuse any inefficiencies and leaks on the part of WASA. At one point I had to ask the public utilities minister to go to WASA to ensure they were being as efficient as possible.”

He said there is an over-reliance on de-salinated water currently, and WASA is spending revenue in US dollars to pay for this water. He said while government has to get more water produced, the argument is that there is enough water being produced but it is not being used properly.