petroleumworld

Trinidad and Tobago is experiencing a severe drought. The Meteorological Service has officially declared a meteorological drought in the country and advises that there is very little prospect for rainfall over the next two to three months.

On Monday, rains in parts of Central and East Trinidad evaporated within an hour, and the weather experts said it was no signal of an end to the scorching dry spell.

The total recorded rainfall yesterday was 0.1 millimetres.

The unrelenting sun is expected back today and no rain was forecast, said senior meteorologist Shakeer Baig.

In a status report on the country’s water supply situation to the House of Representatives yesterday, Minister of Public Utilities Mustapha Abdul-Hamid described the water situation as critical.

The phenomenon of low rainfall levels began in September last year across the region and for the first time since 1946, T&T has gone 31 days with no real rainfall. The rainfall deficit for January was 75 per cent and February 95 per cent.

While the wells and desalinated water sources remain largely unaffected, the main reservoirs which supply the majority of the population are now at 45 per cent and are a cause of serious concern, he said.

The long-term average of the Arima reservoir at this time of the year is 85 per cent. The reservoir at Navet is 63 per cent; Hollis, 69 per cent; and Hillsborough, 63 per cent. The long-term average of the three is 80 per cent.

"We are looking ahead to a severe and dry three months, with extremely limited water sources," he said.

To conserve on water, Hamid said that over the past two months the Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) reduced its production at Caroni from a maximum of 75 million gallons per day to 35 million. In spite of the cut by more than half, WASA has been able to maintain a ’near normal’ service to customers due, in part, he said, to an aggressive leak-repair program, water restriction measures and 'the positive response of some of the population to WASA’s call for the responsible use of water’