Antigua’s water production has fallen by approximately two million gallons per day as the continuing drought dries up key surface and groundwater sources, Utilities Minister Melford Nicholas has disclosed.

Nicholas said the Antigua Public Utilities Authority is currently producing about nine million gallons daily, primarily from reverse osmosis plants.

The country would otherwise be producing approximately 11 million gallons per day if water remained available from Potworks Dam and facilities in the Bendals area.

“With the raging drought that we’re experiencing right now, we have lost our ground and surface water production capabilities,” Nicholas said Tuesday night on the government’s “Taking Stock” radio programme.

He said Potworks Dam is dry, along with reservoirs in the southern section of the island, including facilities in Jennings. Hamilton Dam in the Bendals area is among the few remaining surface sources still providing some water.

APUA is also continuing to draw water from wells in Bendals, but Nicholas warned that those supplies could soon reach saline levels, limiting their usefulness.

“We’re still getting some water from the wells in Bendals, but it ain’t going to be long now before we actually reach the saline level,” he said.

The two million gallons lost would normally include about one million gallons from Potworks Dam, with the remainder coming from Bendals and other surface and groundwater facilities.

Nicholas said efforts are continuing to expand desalination capacity to reduce the country’s dependence on rainfall and make Antigua and Barbuda more resilient during prolonged dry periods.

This article was originally published by Antigua News Room. Read the original article here: Drought Cuts Antigua’s Water Production by Two Million Gallons Daily.