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https://theconversation.com/mauritius-is-facing-a-water-crisis-harvesting-water-from-its-rivers-with-10-reservoirs-can-help-research-255125>
"Mauritius’s water supplies are running very low. As a small island, it is
affected by tropical cyclones, rising temperatures, rising sea levels, and a
warming ocean. Rainfall levels have decreased by 8% over the last 10 years.
The country’s reservoirs are currently only about 38.2% full, down from 92.6%
in February 2024. The population has increased from 479,000 in the 1950s to
over 1.26 million in 2022. The bigger demand for water has placed pressure on
already strained resources.
Droughts in Mauritius are predicted to become more severe and frequent. This
will trigger serious water shortages that will disrupt farming and affect the
livelihoods and wellbeing of local communities. The current water shortages
have already affected big water users – business, industry and agriculture – in
the central plateau and coastal regions.
These problems are part of a broader trend across small island developing
states. Mauritius has put in place stringent restrictions against using water
to wash cars, pavements or buildings, or to water gardens or fill swimming
pools. There are fines of 50,000 Mauritian rupees (US$1,162) to 200,000 rupees
(around US$4,653) for people who do not comply.
Irrigating sugar cane has also been suspended, even though this is vital for
the island’s economy.
However, these restrictions won’t be enough to solve the water shortages. We
are part of a team of researchers from Mauritius, France, the United States and
Kenya. In Mauritius, we’ve researched ways that the country can adapt its water
systems to climate change.
We looked into whether it would be helpful to capture river runoff – water from
rivers that flows into the sea when it rains. We identified water-stressed
areas, rivers, settlements, and the elevation and slope of land across the
island. We then combined this information with an analysis of rainfall trends
over 89 years (from 1931-2020) and other factors.
Our research recommends that the government build 10 reservoirs in places where
they can harness natural water flows. These could in total store 500,000 cubic
metres of water which would supply people during dry times.
Although this is about two days’ worth of the current amount of water used,
during severe water shortages, if water restrictions were also put in place,
the reservoirs would provide a useful amount to tide people over."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
