Expecting droughts in Trinidad and Tobago

Juhel Browne in the Trinidad Express: Droughts can be experienced in Trinidad and Tobago due to climate change, says Prime Minister Patrick Manning as he noted his administration has already taken notice of the water shortages now facing several parts of the country.

Manning acknowledged the severity of the situation and revealed the Government’s planned response to it during a People’s National Movement (PNM) public meeting in Malabar on Tuesday night where residents there told the Express that water problems have been a regular feature in daily life there.

’As it now stands in 2010 the rainfall is already much lower than it is anticipated... and we believe it is El Nino, but it does not in any way negate our conclusion that as a result of climate change among other things we can experience droughts in Trinidad and Tobago,’ Manning said.

He reiterated the Government’s previous announcements that desalination plants are to be constructed in certain areas close to the sea at great expense to address the problem and provide more potable drinking water but added this would require new water distribution systems as some 50 per cent of the existing supply is now lost due to leaks….

Waterfall in Trinidad, shot by Manuel Dohman, Wikimedia Commons, under the Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0 License