Emergency Operations Manager of National Disaster Management Centre, Mohamed Didi, has told Haveeru that eight islands in the country were currently experiencing water shortages.
Didi said that relief efforts were underway to provide drinking water to the islands from within their atolls although emergency reserve funds been severely depleted during the North East Monsoon season.
“MVR 4 million from the emergency relief fund for water shortages has almost been used up. Hence Finance ministry approval is required to spend over the allocated funds,” said Didi.
“A request will be sent tomorrow. There has been no water shortage during the South-West Monsoon within the last four years,” he said.
Surface fresh water is generally lacking in the Maldives due to increasingly variable rainfall patterns induced by climatic change and the management of saline groundwater.
Groundwater was previously used for drinking, however, following the 2004 tsunami, underground wells in most islands are contaminated by sewage, waste and salt-water.