Despite the dry and hot conditions, some persons are not resorting to water conservation strategies.
General Manager of the Central Water and Sewerage Authority (CWSA) WInsbert Quow said that based on data received, water consumption has not changed significantly although the country is presently experiencing a dry and hot spell.
Quow, while bringing the public up to date on the present situation at the various water systems across the country said that water consumption on Saturday May 11 for example amounted to 2.2 million gallons compared to the water consumption back in March 2024 – before the rationing started – which amounted to 2.5 million gallons.
“The phenomenon that I am seeing happening is that when the water goes, as soon as it comes back, we do the same things,” Quow said on May 14 during a press briefing.
He contended that during the dry season, Vincentians used more water because of the dusty conditions.
“We want to wash our cars more, we want to water our lawns and our flowers, some people even want to wash down their homes because of the dust.”
“Now that’s just exacerbating the problem,” Quow said adding that Vincentians needed to change the way they used water particularly during the dry season.
The situation had become very critical on Friday May 10, he said adding that he had a meeting with several supervisors at CWSA on May 13 and many of them said that they were still seeing people using hoses in public to wash down their vehicles.
Quow said that he too saw someone washing down an SUV using a hose.
“Our legislation gives us the authority to take measures to reduce the wastage of water if we see that occurring,” the GM said.
“Of course, we will be sensitive, [and] we will speak to you first; but if the practice continues, we may have to take measures to restrict your supply of water in the interest of the public good,” he continued.
He encouraged the public to be more conservative in the use of water and to store up water.
“This is not our first rodeo, we have gone through times of dryness before, we had a terrible drought in 2010 and every year we will have periods, they may not be as prolonged, but we will have periods where there is a dry spell,” Quow explained.
However, some were still lagging in terms of readiness.
“You may go to a home and there are no containers, not even when you come to deliver water,” he said.
“We recommend that if you cannot afford a storage tank for your home you can even get one of those 55-gallon blue drums and fill it with water, always keep some water stored,” he said.
“Or have a five-gallon bucket of water, one or two because you may have service line disruptions,” the CWSA GM added.
