The consolidation of the El Niño phenomenon as of July puts government institutions to work to reduce the effects it will have on the country during the next dry season.
In addition to the fact that the lack of rains over several regions of the country during the coming months will cause severe effects in various productive sectors, such as agriculture and energy, El Niño will also hit home.
“According to our analyses, the greatest affectation that we have been anticipating at this time will occur at the beginning of 2024 and in specific areas such as the North Pacific, North Zone, Caribbean, Chorotega and the Greater Metropolitan Area,” said María Gabriela Vallejo, general manager of Aqueducts and Sewers (AyA).And it is that the amount of rain that is falling on the country will be insufficient to guarantee water resources to the Ticos during the dry season.
Determining factors
Given this forecast, you can be a determining factor so that drinking water reaches homes and that water resources are not lacking in plants of the Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE).
“We call on the population, this is teamwork, we as an institution from the AyA are committed to take all the necessary actions, but it is important that we all raise awareness about the rational use of the resource and we can perceive the least possible impact,” added Vallejo.This call for “solidarity consumption” of water is due to the fact that it generally increases by up to 10% during the dry season, according to the AyA.
Avoiding washing the vehicle, sidewalks or watering plants (during the day), as well as taking shorter showers, turning off the tap when soaping dishes and reporting water leaks are simple tasks that you can undertake to reduce the effects of this phenomenon.
It must also be remembered that a large part of the use of water in homes is related to washing clothes, using sanitary services and bathing in the shower.Reducing household water consumption will be one of the greatest allies for the country to reduce the impact of El Niño during the dry season, according to AyA.
Making rational use of water
“I call on the population to make rational use of water, given that the El Niño phenomenon will last until 2014,” said Alejandro Picado, president of the National Emergency Commission (CNE).
It is expected that by 2024 the population affected by water shortages in the Greater Metropolitan Area (GAM) will be around 650 thousand people.But the help of the Ticos is not only aimed at the rational use of water, but authorities from MAG, ICE and Recope also called for reducing this impact.
From the MAG, producers are being asked to take measures such as updated inventories, water reservoirs and the application of rational grazing, so that this reduces the impacts of the phenomenon and the government must invest fewer resources in palliative measures.
On energy issues, Recope and ICE have increased the use of fuels such as bunker and diesel to guarantee electricity demand, for which the authorities ask citizens to have a rational use of electricity consumption during this season.Practical measures to save electricity are those that people can carry out and thus collaborate with the actions implemented by ICE.
Greater use of natural light, clearing windows, disconnecting electrical appliances that are not being used, moderating the use of air conditioning, reducing the time that water heaters or showers are used, and using energy-saving lamps are all simple actions that users can perform.
On the other hand, another of the actions that Ticos can do to mitigate the impact of the phenomenon is to contribute to the reduction of forest fires in 2024.99% of these fires are due to human causes and cost the country a large amount of resources to deal with them, for which reason it is now requested that burning in charrals and bonfires be avoided in areas surrounding National Parks, because the next dry season will be very intense, with high temperatures.
In the event that the El Niño phenomenon gets out of control, the CNE must declare a national emergency, which would cost the government at least ¢4.500 million.
