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Port Of Spain (AFP) March 30, 2010 Trinidad and Tobago is facing a crisis in its ongoing water shortage, with consumption levels recklessly high, authorities warned Tuesday. The Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) cautioned that at current consumption levels, water will not last until the end of the dry season in June. Despite strict water restrictions on citizens, water levels "are dropping at an unprecedented level in the nation's reservoirs," WASA's Corporate Communications Manager Ellen Lewis told AFP. Levels at the nation's largest reservoir Arena Dam stand now at 40 percent. Other major dams registered below 50 percent as of April 26. The long-term average at this time of year is 80 percent. "If citizens continue to consume water at present levels, there will be no more water in the nation's dams by the end of April," warned Lewis. At an emergency press conference called on Monday, Lewis told members of the media "the water situation was far worse than when we last reported to you." "The country is now running on just about one third of its water supplies and still has to serve the needs of 1.3 million citizens," she said. "We started off the year with the reservoirs capable of meeting the needs of the country, but now those reservoirs are a third of its regular supply, still having to serve the needs of 1.3 million people," Lewis added. The authority now has to further ration water, and limit schedules to "one regular supply a week to communities." There has been no significant rainfall on the twin island Caribbean nation, just off Venezuela's coast, since the middle of May. The latest forecast from the Met Office does not predict "any significant rainfall in the near future." The authority has charged 35 people for wasting water since water restrictions were implemented in February. Another 14 people have been disconnected for the illegal sale of water.
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