Water catchments created as dry season affects supply

Prolonged dry weather conditions are creating water supply issues for farmers across some communities, prompting intervention from the Agriculture Ministry to alleviate these woes.
The extended dry season has significantly affected the water supply in Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni), prompting intervention from Government.
On Monday, Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha responded to this issue during a press conference, where he outlined that catchments are being used to ensure that farmers are supplied adequately with water.
“We have been working with farmers to help them to build capacity in those areas. We are going water catchment and we are trying to link water to those catchment areas that we have built so that farmers can get it directly. The catchments have these pond type structures that we have built in those areas,” he divulged.
Over in Mahdia, while water is being supplied to lower elevations such as the airstrip and the bottom flat of Danjou Hill, most of the areas at high elevation are not receiving supply, which is around 40 per cent of the municipality.
The Mahdia water system typically provides water to the residents via three sources: Salbora Spring, 7-Miles Well and Admin Well, with the Salbora source providing water to two-thirds of the population while 7-Miles Well caters for the other third.
Last Thursday, Housing and Water Minister Collin Croal and Amerindian Affairs Minister Pauline Sukhai reassured residents of Mahdia that immediate interventions would be made to address their concerns.
Following months of extremely dry weather conditions, Guyana is expected to experience increased rainfall next month, according to forecasts from the local Hydromet Office.
Earlier this month, President Dr Irfaan Ali issued a call for citizens to conserve water, in light of the El Nino conditions.
“What we have seen as a result of the prolonged dry season, the extremely dry season, is that a lot of persons are also going to pipe water for gardens, for farming, for agriculture. They are going to pipe water also for construction purposes…so, I wanted to ask communities, members of the population to be careful with the consumption of water,” the President had expressed.
Region One (Barima-Waini) was experiencing reduced water flow from springs, leading to scheduled sectional water deliveries to residents in areas such as Mabaruma, Mathews Ridge, Port Kaituma, Arakaka and Manawarin.
In Regions Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) and Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo), static levels of wells have declined significantly, especially in the Kamarang and Jawalla areas, while there was a depletion in surface water sources in areas such as El Paso and Kurukabaru.
The Head of State also outlined plans for emergency responses, including drilling new wells and rationing measures in critically affected areas, to mitigate the impact of water scarcity on agriculture, livestock, and daily life.
In April of this year, the Hydromet Office had announced that Guyana is expected to see an average level of rainfall during the May-June rainy season but below normal rainfall in July that may likely result in a drought from thereon.
El Nino and La Nina are climate patterns in the Pacific Ocean that can affect weather worldwide, with El Niño being characterised by warmer temperatures and less rainfall and La Niña denoted by cooler temperatures and heavier rainfall. (G12)