NewsWhore
08-13-2007, 05:30 PM
A major change in Dominican water use habits and practices is necessary if the country is to avoid having to resort to installing costly desalination plants in the future, as is the case in several Caribbean islands that suffer fresh water shortages. In a report in Hoy newspaper on Sunday, 12 August, environmental engineer Julio Santos-Cayado points out that the DR used 49% of its renewable water sources in 2006. He explains that the DR has the highest water use percentage in the Americas, with 49.35% or 9,573km3 of the total renewable total in 2006. Use is divided into 88% agriculture, 11% industry and 1% domestic. He indicates that in the Americas, the DR is the country with the third least available water, after Puerto Rico with 7.10 Km3 and Haiti with 14.03Km3. The high 49.35% water use percentage is higher than that in Spain that has 32.2%, Germany, 30.08, France, 17.49% and US at 15.65%. He points out that per capita use of water in the DR is triple the European rate. "Dominicans are in an unfortunate situation. We have a low volume of renewable water sources and we consume more than anyone else, with the exception of the United States," he warns. He says that control needs to be taken of the situation, primarily because of the climatic changes brought about by global warming.
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