the prefecture announces an intensification of water cuts

The island has been in the grip of a water crisis for several months. The prefecture of Mayotte announced, Wednesday, July 12, an intensification of water cuts, up to one per day for the most densely populated municipalities of the island. From Monday 17, the municipalities of Mamoudzou, Koungou, Dzaoudzi-Labattoir and Pamandzi will suffer seven cuts “nocturnes” per week, from 4 p.m. to 8 a.m. the following morning. The thirteen other towns in the French department of the Indian Ocean will have to deal with three “water towers” 24 hours a week, from 4 p.m. to 4 p.m. the next day, details the prefecture of Mayotte in a press release.

These restrictions are made necessary by the drought that is raging in Mayotte, as well as by the dilapidated state of the network. “With the exception of 1997, there has never been so little rain in the department”, underlines the prefecture. The situation had already forced the authorities to set up a third weekly shutdown on May 22, before a fourth in mid-June. While a fifth water tower was to be put in place at the beginning of July, the lack of rain forced the Water Resources Monitoring Committee to speed up the pace.