Between Drought and Floods, Cuba Seeks to Improve Water Management

[Judi Lynn]

By Patricia Grogg



A medium-density polyethylene (MDPE) pipe is set to be installed on a centrally located avenue in the
municipality of Centro Habana, which will be part of the new water supply grid for residents of the
Cuban grid for residents of the Cuban capital. Credit: Jorge Luis Baños/IPS

HAVANA, Sep 15 2018 (IPS) - If you enjoy a good daily shower and water comes out every time you turn on the taps in your home, you should feel privileged. There are places in the world where this vital resource for life is becoming scarcer by the day and the forecasts for the future are grim.

A study by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), which covers the period 2003-2013, shows that the world’s largest underground aquifers are being depleted at an alarming rate as a result of more water being withdrawn than can be replenished.

“The situation is quite critical,” NASA scientist Jay Famiglietti has said, when discussing the subject in specialised publications in the U.S. In the opinion of this expert the problems with groundwater are aggravated by global warming due to the phenomenon of climate change.

Far from diminishing, the impact of climate variations is also felt in greater changes in rainfall patterns, with serious consequences for Caribbean nations that are dependent on rainfall. In Cuba and other Caribbean island countries, in particular, periods of drought have become more intense.

More:
http://www.ipsnews.net/2018/09/drought-floods-cuba-seeks-improve-water-management/