https://www.cnn.com/2023/11/19/climate/mayotte-water-crisis-drought-climate/index.html
Gripped by drought, this island
is running out of drinking water By Claudia Colliva, CNN Published 1:30 AM EST, Sun November
19, 2023 Lemor
David/ABACA/Shutterstock CNN — When Racha Mousdikoudine opens
her kitchen faucet, she never knows what will happen. “Maybe I won’t get any water at
all,” she told CNN. “Maybe I’ll get 30 minutes of water. Maybe the water will
only come after hours of waiting.” For the last four months,
Mousdikoudine and her two children have had little or no running water in
their home on the French territory of Mayotte, and island of around 310,000
people in the Indian Ocean off the eastern coast of Africa, between
Mozambique and the island of Madagascar. Mayotte is facing an
unprecedented water crisis amid one of the worst droughts in its history, as
the impacts of the human-caused climate crisis collide with a chronic lack of
investment in the water system. The island is grappling with
its worst drought since 1997. Its two water
reservoirs have reached a “critical level of decline”
– one is at 7% of capacity and the other at 6%, according to the most recent
estimates, and they are on the verge of drying up. It has led to drastic water
cuts. Residents only have access to water for around 18 hours at a time every
couple of days, according to a schedule published by the Prefecture, the
local subdivision of the French government. Many say what little water they
have is often contaminated and undrinkable. Residents have had to cope with
school closures and a growing health crisis, all while water bottles become a
rare – and expensive – commodity on supermarket shelves. In a country like France this is
‘unimaginable’ Though 5,000 miles away from
mainland France, under French law, Mayotte is as French as the suburbs of
Paris. Colonized by France in 1841, the island was
formally recognized as a French department in 2011, meaning it has the same
legal status as the 96 departments that make up mainland France. The French government has
responded to the crisis. In September, it shipped 600,000 liters of bottled
water to the island for its most vulnerable residents and has deployed
soldiers and civil servants to help with water distribution. The government
has also suspended water bills for all residents. But many Mahorais – the term
used to refer to people from Mayotte – still feel abandoned. Douainda Attoumani, 27, is
scared of what the future might hold. She lives in a household of 10, with
her parents, her sister, four brothers and two cousins. Every day is harder
than the last, she told CNN. “The authorities seem absent in
our daily suffering,” she said, adding, “when we have no water, what are we
actually going to do? We’re going to die of thirst.” Many, like Mousdikoudine, are
angry. “I’m a French woman, but one
without any autonomy, because I have no water,” she said. “I have to choose
between going to look for water for my family and going to work. In a country
like France, having to make these kinds of decisions, it’s unimaginable.” The simple acts of washing or
pouring glasses of water for her daughters, ages 7 and 9, became such a huge
challenge she and her husband decided to send the children to live with their
grandmother in the French territory of La Réunion, about a two-hour flight
from Mayotte. The decision was extremely
difficult, Mousdikoudine said, but she felt she had no choice. “It got to the point where I
could no longer ensure the safety of my children. Cook them proper meals,
take care of their hygiene, things like going to the toilet, washing.” ‘At any moment things can get out of
hand’ Water in Mayotte is not only
scarce, but what’s available is often contaminated. Online, residents use the
hashtag #MayotteASoif (Mayotte
is thirsty) to share videos of the brown, sediment-filled liquid that emerges
from their taps. Some, including Mousdikoudine, have taken to the streets in
protest. The Regional Health Authority
(ARS) in Mayotte has identified several instances of contaminated water. As
of mid-October, the cases of “non-compliant” water were at around 3%, ARS
general manager Olivier Brahic told CNN. Many residents, however,
believe the water quality issue to be a much bigger problem. Estelle Youssouffa, a lawmaker
for Mayotte in the French National Assembly, told CNN the reason authorities
are able to say the water is drinkable is because they perform tests only
once it’s been flowing for several hours after an interruption. The ARS confirmed to CNN that
tests are undertaken after water has been running for 12 hours following a
cut. Mousdikoudine and Attoumani
both said that after a cut, the water only starts to flow clear after it’s
been running for hours. But most residents can’t forgo water during that time
when it is rationed. As the water crisis continues,
so do the health risks. The island has been experiencing an acute gastroenteritis epidemic,
according to Dr. Soumeth Abasse, president of the medical committee of
Mayotte’s Hospital. Gastroenteritis epidemics are
not unusual in the summer months, Abasse said, but this one is extending well
into the fall. “We’ve also had a worsening of cases,” he added. “Some cases
were a little more difficult, more complicated, with a lot of cases ending up
in intensive care.” He said the causes of the
epidemic are both contaminated water and lower hygiene standards
resulting from people having less access to water, which affects their
ability to wash their hands, shower, flush their toilets and clean their
homes. “We’re always afraid of a
possible explosion of these water-borne diseases,” Abasse said. “At any
moment, things can get out of hand, and we don’t have enough staff to deal
with it.” Mayotte’s understaffed hospital
is only one of many infrastructural issues the French department is facing. Mayotte’s population has nearly doubled since 2007, and
infrastructure improvements haven’t kept pace, Youssouffa said. Even outside periods of
drought, water production on the territory is insufficient, according to the
Prefecture, with water cuts a regular occurrence on the island, long before
this year’s exceptionally low rainfall. The increased demands of a
larger population coupled with the impacts of climate change, which is making
droughts both more frequent and more severe, has put a huge amount of
pressure on the island’s water resources. “The rains have been
diminishing for years,” said Youssouffa. “We’ve seen the path of cyclones and
the path of rains changing in the region … and that’s directly the impact of
climate change.” For years, talks have been
underway to build a third water reservoir and a second
desalination plant to increase Mayotte’s drinking water production
capabilities. But neither project has begun, according to the
Prefecture. Mayotte has received funding to
help with its dire water situation. In 2014, the European Commission
allocated 22 million euros ($24 million) to Mayotte for its water supply, as
part of a larger funding package. But in 2021, payments of the
whole fund were suspended after an audit found “serious irregularities and
shortcomings” in the management of the money, before resuming again this
year. So far less than half of the money earmarked for water has been spent, the
Prefecture told CNN. ‘It’s not a normal life’ Mahorais continue to struggle
with the financial repercussions of the dire water crisis. In July, the French government
introduced a price freeze on
bottled water, but a pack of six 1.5 liter bottles can still cost as much as
12 euros ($13), according to CNN affiliate BFMTV. This makes it unaffordable
for the majority of the island’s population. And that’s if bottled water is
even available in the first place. Elsa Leduc, a humanitarian
worker who moved to Mayotte from Paris in September, said trying to find
bottled water has become a daily chore. “Every time I go to the supermarket,
there’s no water,” she said. “I have to go to smaller shops that are a lot more
expensive.” Leduc is lucky that she is able
to afford the high prices, but most on the island can’t. According to
INSEE, 77% of Mayotte’s
inhabitants live below the national poverty line, a figure that is five times
higher than in the rest of France. “The difficulty with the water
crisis is that it’s making Mayotte unlivable,” said Youssouffa. “The crisis
is so bad that it’s interrupting public services. It’s interrupting
schooling. It’s interrupting businesses. It’s not a normal life.” Mousdikoudine and Attoumani,
like many Mahorais, wonder why authorities failed to prepare for it. “Since 2018, we’ve had small
(water) cuts and we could see that there wasn’t any rain,” said Attoumani,
“so they should have anticipated, found solutions.” “The whole system is falling
apart literally before our eyes, because it’s shutting down,” said
Youssouffa. “You cannot function without water.” All hopes are on the rainy
season, which starts in December. But Mousdikoudine worries it won’t be
enough. “I know things are going to get worse.” |
Tuesday, February 20, 2024
Water Insecurity. Climate Change: Gripped by drought, this island is running out of drinking water
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