With global warming, rainfall has been greatly affected in many countries, and Mauritius is not spared. Water management has long been the subject of debate because, even with reservoirs with significant storage capacity, many regions of the island find themselves without water for several days or weeks. To elaborate a little more on this subject, the plateau ki nouvo moris had invited the oceanographer Vassen Kauppaymuthoo. Asvin Gudday had presented the show.

The introduction of the water resources bill.

Vassen Kauppaymuthoo’s first observation is that water does not belong to anyone because it is a public good. The public domain also means that it cannot be subject to sale or privatization.

« The right to water must be managed by an independent body, detached from the politics and management of the country. »

The constitution of Mauritius, which is the supreme law of the island, provides that every individual has the right to private property, and it exists not only on the land but also in the waters attached to it. Vassen Kauppaymuthoo points out that the Water Resources Bill that is currently being debated in parliament will, if it is adopted, take away a person’s right to water and thus deprive him of his right to property. As a result, you take away a person’s constitutional right, says our guest. Another problem with the Water Resources Bill is that the power of the Supreme Court will be transferred to a commission that will decide on the permits for water extraction.

“Instead of the Supreme Court issuing a judgment authorizing you to extract the water, a commission will be set up to do so, which is a shame because this law will affect the stability of the water rights conferred by the Rivers and Canals Act”.

Climate impact.

With climate change, rainfall has decreased by 8% since the 1950s. The problem of water in Mauritius is not related to the amount of water that falls on Mauritius but rather to the distribution of rain during the year, says Vassen Kauppaymuthoo.

“We cannot say that Mauritius lacks water because we have an average of 1800 mm of rain per year that covers the entire island. Compared to a population of 1.2 million, that’s huge. The solution to this unequal distribution of water is storage.”

Water management is not necessarily limited to the right to water but also to the means put in place for its collection and distribution. For the oceanographer, the problem could be solved if the institution concerned improves natural storage and water dams. Indeed, groundwater is a natural storage area, and if it is not overexploited, it can be redistributed in a reasonable way during the year. The whole system is there, and it is imperative to start attacking the source of the problem.

“The 60% loss must be reduced to 20%, and it will mean that the population will have 8 hours of water per day. If we increase our surface storage, we will save between 12 and 15 hours.”

To conclude, water policy should be done in the long term. To ensure the continuity of water distribution throughout the year, water collection and proper storage methods must be implemented. As far as climate change is concerned, it is more than urgent to set up a system for rehousing people who live in flood-prone areas. Indeed, the recent floods have shown that many parts of the country are a real danger to the safety of families and that it is more than urgent that the government move forward with a plan.

Watch the show here: