2023-10-05 17:45:10
A gesture in the face of a serious crisis. From September to December, the State will cover the water bills of Mayotte residents facing a shortage of this vital resource on their island. “Water service subscribers will not have to pay bills for the months of September to December 2023, given the very significant deterioration of the service provided to the public,” said Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne in a press release. following an interministerial meeting on this subject.
The government also plans to “gradually expand” until mid-November the distribution of free bottled water, currently limited to 50,000 of the most vulnerable people, thanks to more deliveries of bottles from Reunion and the hexagon. A source close to the matter mentions an expansion of this distribution to around 100,000 people.
A significant drought and regular water cuts
Some 300 soldiers and civilians will be deployed to Mayotte to ensure the logistics of this distribution, including 50 education assistants in schools. To deal with this water crisis due to a severe drought, the State has intensified cuts and is considering extending them further, anticipating a difficult “six to eight weeks”.
Since September 4, the entire Mahorese population, or 310,000 people, has been deprived of water two days out of three. The poorest department in France is facing its worst drought since 1997, while its supply depends largely on rainwater. Rainfall deficits are aggravated by a lack of infrastructure and investment in a territory which, under pressure from illegal immigration particularly from the neighboring Comoros, is experiencing demographic growth of 4% per year.
Emergency work has been undertaken (drilling, leak detection, network interconnection, etc.) but should only bear fruit in the longer term. The construction of a second desalination plant and a third hill reservoir project are also planned.
#State #pay #residents #water #bills #September #December