Havana affected by growing water shortage
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The water supply to Cuban capital Havana and the province around it faces the most critical level in the last 50 years, which could worsen if it does not rain in May and June, the National Institute of Water Resources (INRH) said in a report on Tuesday.
Jorge Kalaf, an official in charge of development and investments at the INRH, said March was more dry than usual and had a deficit on rain water rain accumulation, which is considered moderate to severe in regions of Cuba, according to the report published in the official daily "Granma."
Kalaf said that the drought reached "extreme levels" in the Havana province, when there are barely 12 millimeters registered. This represents just 20 percent of the historical levels for March.
He added the city of Havana has a deficit of 519,307 cubic meters of water per day at the moment, affecting more than 1 million people, of whom only 106,000 has water tanks.
The ageing of the aqueduct also affects the water supply, as 70 percent of its pipelines are in bad state.
"The long lasting deterioration of the aqueduct systems' supply networks, the waste of the interior networks, the ironwork of institutions and houses, and the lack of a saving (water) culture," was aggravating the problem, Kalaf said.
According to the Meteorology Institute's Climate Center, even if it rains normally in April, as it usual does during this time of the year, it will not be enough to compensate for the deficit that has been built up during the unusually dry months in the beginning of the year.
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