And « incident technique » in the Ourovéni water treatment plant, in Mayotte, deprived half of the population of Grande Terre of water this Tuesday, November 12, 2024, the prefecture indicated in a press release.
This incident, caused by “an electrical event” occurred during the night from Monday to Tuesday according to state services, “leads to water cuts mainly localized in the center and the south” from the Indian Ocean island.
The Ourovéni treatment and purification plant, which produces between 15,000 and 20,000 m³ of water per day, supplies water to half the population of Mayotte, which has around 320,000 inhabitants according to INSEE.
The incident occurs in a context of severe water shortage in the territory. The lack of precipitation during the 2022-2023 rainy season, coupled with production below needs and leaks in the network, forced France’s poorest department to deprive its residents of water for up to two days out of three between August 2023 and January 2024.
Read also : “Do we see this elsewhere? »: in Mayotte, 24-hour water cuts, three days a week
Deprived of water every other day
Even today, “daily consumption is estimated at 45,000 m³ but the territory can only produce a maximum of 40,000 m³”specifiesAFP Jérôme Josserand, director of environment, planning, housing and the sea (Dealm) of Mayotte. As a result, the Mahorais are still deprived of water one day in three.
The incident at the Ourovéni factory intensifies water cuts in several communes of Grande-Terre (Chiconi, Dembéni, Sada, Ouangani, Bandrélé, Chirongui, Bouéni and certain villages of Kani-Kéli).
Three middle schools and two high schools closed
At the same time, several schools, usually supplied with continuous water, were forced to send students home mid-morning on Tuesday.
“In the absence of sanitary water in schools, the early end of classes was decided in secondary schools,” specifies the prefecture. According to the rectorate, three middle schools and two high schools have closed their doors.
The teams from the water union, SMAE, are “at work at the factory in order to assess the consequences of the incident and the time taken to restore the situation”, underlines the prefecture.
According to the SMAE, drinking water tanks have been installed in the municipalities affected by the power cut.
