The Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) has released T&T’s 2023 Dry Season water restriction schedules.
WASA has placed communities across Tobago, as well as northeastern, southeastern, southwestern, and central Trinidad, under some level of reduced water supply, but no water restriction schedules have been issued for northwestern Trinidad.
The schedules, which were posted to WASA’s website and Facebook pages, state that several areas will receive pipe-borne water supply daily, as well as every three, four, five, and six days.
There are even further reductions for communities on the extremities of the water distribution network, where areas like Manzanilla and Mayo will receive water once a week. However, populous communities like Princes Town, home to more than 28,000, and Freeport, home to nearly 12,000, as well as those in elevated areas like upper Lopinot and upper D’Abadie, will receive water in the pipes once a week.
Further south and east, many areas across Trinidad could see water in their taps once every nine days, like Mafeking, Barrakpore, Clark Road, Rock Road, and Morne Diablo, to name a few. However, St. Mary’s and Moruga will be receiving water once every ten days.
These restrictions come one week after their announcement by WASA Chairman Ravindra Nanga. At the press conference, the T& Meteorological Service explained that at Piarco, Trinidad received 68 per cent of rainfall compared to the average for January, 55.6 per cent for February, and only 16.7 per cent of average rainfall for March. Tobago fared slightly better but these rainfall deficits across both islands were reflected in reservoir levels, with Hollis and Navet below their long-term averages.
WASA has taken to its social media platforms to remind the public that they can request free truck-borne water supply via the WASA Services App, the customer portal on the WASA website, WhatsApp via 1-868-709-7793, and toll-free at 800-4H20 (800-4420/4426). However, there are known delays in this system. Guardian Media has also contacted the Authority to inquire about the cause of the delays and the current number of outstanding requests, but there has yet to be a response as of press time.
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