The Central Water and Sewerage Authority, has expanded the areas and hours of water rationing across the country, as drought conditions continue to affect the levels of rainfall here.
A release from the CWSA says continuing drought conditions, characterized by an absence of rainfall in the interior of the island has now resulted in a further reduction of inflows from the three major rivers at Dalaway, Majorca and Montreal.
The CWSA says it is now forced to expand both the areas and hours of water rationing to include all areas between Buccament and Calliaqua, inclusive of Kingstown and its environs Arnos Vale, Belair, gomea, Dauphine, the Marriaqua Valley and some areas in the south-east of the island.
The CWSA is also advising residents in these areas that in order to minimize inconvenience, the scheduled outages will be mainly confined to the period between 8:30pm and 5am each day. But it said that interruptions during the day may also be experienced, until the rains return. The CWSA says once the situation improve the restrictions will be eased.
According to the CWSA, during the past five months of this year, only 20 inches of rainfall has been recorded in the interior of the island, compared with the expected 45-inches. This represents an almost 60-percent reduction in rainfall, during what is usually the dry season for St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and the region in general.
The CWSA says it will continue to keep the public informed by issuing periodic, if not daily notices, via electronic and social media, giving further details of the planned interruptions.
