Dominican Republic’s entire water reserve in ‘red condition’

Santo Domingo.- Dominican Republic’s entire system of reservoirs is in critical situation, prompting the canals and dams agency’s (INDRHI) warning of a “red condition” Wednesday.

Agency director Olgo Fernández said the water supply will be evaluated weekly and revealed that the dams that feed the southern provinces Peravia and San Cristóbal provinces and Greater Santo Domingo operate under the most critical conditions. "The country’s other basins are also in critical situation. They are in red."

"When a basin is in red, it’s because it’s well below normal level, and after that drop, it must be placed under observation, and operated on a scheduled basis, as done at the Observatory," the official said during a meeting of the heads of t he various agencies of the water sector.

Fernández said operations at Tavera and Lopez Angostura dams were rescheduled because their level have been falling, while similar conditions affect Sabana Yegua and Sabaneta in the southern region. “The country is still affected by the seasonal drought that has hammered us in the last few months."

He warned that the situation won’t be surmounted “until there’s enough rain to drench the basins and saturate the soil. That’s what we’re waiting for in the next few days."

Slight improvement

The head of the INDRHI added that the dams under the worst situation are Valdesia, Jiguey and Aguacate, but noted a slight improvement with the recent rains, which helped keep the dam’s volume, “but that doesn’t mean that we’ve surmounted the critical situation."