The St Lucia Star reports that the Minister for Public Utilities, Guy Joseph, met with the management of the Water and Sewerage Company yesterday to discuss the island’s water crisis. With St Lucia already undergoing a water rationing program, which leaves some without water for days, the newspaper reports that WASCO is looking to new measures to deal with the current drought—among them the possibility of importing water from Dominica and deep well drilling. With a drought warning issued by the Meterogical Office late last year, many Caribbean countries are now feeling the effects of the drop in rainfall. Reports are that Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Antigua and Barbuda and Guyana are hardest hit. There has been a ban on watering lawns and washing vehicles as a means of saving the water in the countries’ reservoirs. In Trinidad water police have been deployed to ensure people are obeying the new rules. Guyana’s agriculture industry is severely threatened and this will cost the country millions in revenue.
At home, there is the view by some at WASCO that St Lucians are not taking seriously enough the current situation. “We are stretched to the maximum and we are asking people to consider this when they are using the water they do get,” said one official who spoke to us yesterday. “People need to police themselves.”
For more go to http://stluciastar.com/content/archives/11073
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By: Global Voices Online » St. Lucia, Grenada: Water Crisis on February 19, 2010
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