In an invited comment at today’s post-Cabinet media briefing, Colonel (retired) Chabilall Ramsarup, Director General of the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) rates the current El Nino situation 8 out of 10 as such residents are urged to conserve water.
Defending his rating, Ramsarup explained to media operatives that forecasters have predicted a long dry spell which will not end until March earliest. At present, all the conservancies are below full supply which means there is no natural flow of water. This situation has resulted in water being pumped from the conservancy into the farm lands.
Agriculture Minister Noel Holder who was also at the post-Cabinet briefing, explained that the current situation stemmed from the country not having a long wet season.
“The East Demerara Water Conservancy is below level…water cannot come out like gravity into any canal…we are pumping from Maduni into the Lama (canal) but that isn’t working well so we have to pump into the Conservancy then into the Lama which feeds Georgetown.”
In light of the current circumstances, Guyanese must take the situation seriously and conserve water when necessary, the Minister urged.
The National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) has released an advisory urging consumers to conserve water as other plans are underway to bring relief to the affected communities.
