The recent heavy rainfall and flooding have posed challenges for the technicians at the Central Water Authority (CWA) in Mauritius.
Two main pipes running through rivers were damaged, and several containerized pressure filters (PCF) were put on standby due to the muddy waters in the rivers.
The Pailles filtration station is not operating at full capacity, leading to irregular water supply in several regions of the island since yesterday.
The CWA hopes that the situation will gradually return to normal throughout the day.
“Our technicians have done their best to repair the pipes damaged by the rising waters.
However, the operation of our PCFs is out of our hands. It depends on the water quality in the rivers.
The mobile filters will not be operational as long as the waters remain muddy. We will conduct regular tests to determine the sediment levels in the water.
Our filters will be operational once we determine that there is no health risk to the public,” said a source at the CWA.
The two pipes pass through bridges, including at Tranquebar and La Laura, which were damaged by the floods.
As of yesterday afternoon, they were almost repaired, but water distribution was irregular in areas such as Pailles, Ste-Croix, part of Roche-Bois, and surrounding areas.
The La Laura region also experienced irregular water supply. In Pailles, the CWA had to reduce the volume of water treated at the treatment plant due to debris and mud carried by the river to minimize damage to infrastructure.
Several other areas, including Grande-Rivière-Nord-Ouest, Pailles, Port-Louis, La Tour-Koenig, Pointe-aux-Sables, and Roche-Bois, also faced irregular water supply.
In areas where residents are not receiving water regularly, the CWA had to shut down some PCFs as they cannot filter muddy water.
Source: l’Express
