“Mayotte is facing an unprecedented drought this year. With the exception of 1997, there has never been so little rain in the department”. In a press release, the prefecture of Mayotte announced Monday that water cuts were maintained in areas where economic activity is the most important. In the communes of Mamoudzou, Koungou, Pamandzi and Dzaoudzi, the water will be cut off every night, 7 days a week, between 4 p.m. and 8 a.m.
The thirteen other cities of the French department of the Indian Ocean will have to deal with three “water towers” of 24 hours a week, from 4 p.m. to 4 p.m. the next day, indicates the prefecture of Mayotte in a press release.
Bottled water price freeze
These restrictions are made necessary by the drought that is raging in Mayotte, as well as by the dilapidated state of the network. Faced with the drought, the prefecture announced the freezing of the sale prices of water bottles, until December 15, 2023.
The drought facing Mayotte had already forced the authorities to set up a third weekly cut 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. The start of the next rainy season is scheduled for November. In addition, the prefect of Mayotte issued an order on July 13 for the temporary limitation of certain uses of water.