Water Shortage on St Helena Remains Serious

Stored Water Levels in Redhill Zone Sufficient for 10 Days

All St Helena Residents Urged to Continue Saving Water The water shortage on St Helena, though still severe and serious, has eased slightly with this week’s bowsering efforts and the continued reduced level of consumption in the Redhill distribution area.

Stored water levels at Redhill remain exceptionally low, but have extended slightly to around 10 days of supply. The Contingency Planning Group (CPG) again thanks the public for responding to the water problem. We are seeing reduced usage from the Redhill treatment plant, but also in Jamestown and Levelwood. This is very welcome. Consumption in the affected areas has settled at around 250 cubic metres per day (down from the normal 400), setting an example to the rest of the Island. But, with the Bank Holiday weekend approaching we must all continue our efforts to conserve this valuable resource.

Please continue to reduce your water consumption and use for essential domestic needs for the foreseeable future. This message goes out to the Island as a whole, as bowsering and pumping from reliable sources clearly has implications for the totality of St Helena’s water supplies. Water is ultimately a finite resource on this Island. The bowsering teams will take a break this weekend in order to allow the replenishment of their raw water sources. An additional bowser from Ascension Island will be arriving on 20 June.

A more technical media briefing will take place this afternoon, as well as the regular water overview. This will explain what the CPG is doing to secure supplies for the Redhill zone in the medium term. All of this is aimed at securing reliable and sustainable sources for residents, with July and August in mind. In the longer term, some permanent infrastructure changes on St Helena as a whole are likely.

Notes to Editors: A leaflet – Your Top Ten Tips to Saving Water – is now available in local shops, and in this week’s newspapers. Please keep a copy to hand. The leaflet reminds you that you can save water in numerous ways, including: • Not flushing the toilet on every occasion • Using washing up water on the garden or vegetable patch • Using the washing machine sparingly and only when full • Taking a short shower instead of a bath – you can save up to 90 gallons of water a week • Turning the tap off while brushing teeth – this could save 25 gallons of water a month • Using a bowl when washing vegetables or fruit instead of using running water • Checking your taps for leaks and fixing them – a small drip can amount to 20 gallons a day.

SHG

14 June 2013

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St Helena Government Communications Hub

Telephone: 22470
Email: kimberley.peters@sainthelena.gov.sh