Water consumption per person has increased last years

A ministerial committee is working on the new tariffs which will most probably come into force in April.

Official statistics show that the CWA has over the past two decades injected an additional 3% of water to the amount of potable water supplied. Water consumption per person has increased from 152 litres per day in 1990 to 170 litres per day in 2010.

The water consumption for the population in 1990 which was 310,000 cubic metres has reached around 590,000 cubic metres, representing a rise of 90%. Treated water distributed to all economic sectors has also increased by 2.2% over the past 25 years.

According to the National Environment Action Plan for Mauritius, the demand for water can easily surpass the water supply capacity of the CWA by 2040 if the necessary measures and water management best practices are not implemented.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy and Public Utilities Dr Rashid Beebeejaun announced that a fund of Rs120 million has already been allocated by government from which a grant of Rs3,000 would be made available to vulnerable families for the purchase of water tanks.

Dr Beebeejaun also said that there are experts from Singapore and France who have been advising the government on water usage best practices and ways to provide a 24/7 potable water supply throughout the year.

“The CWA uses only 22% of our available water, 40% irrigation water and 37% of our water is used to generate only 4% of the country’s electricity,” Dr Beebeejaun explained.