MAMUZU, MAYOTE (AP) — On the island of Mayotte, the poorest place in the European Union, water is disappearing bit by bit, becoming increasingly precious. In this French territory off the east coast of Africa, the taps don’t flow only a third of the time because of a long drought combined with years of underinvestment and mismanagement of water resources.
Diseases such as cholera and typhoid are on the rise, and French troops have recently intervened to distribute water and calm supply tensions. The crisis is a wake-up call for the French government to recognize the challenges and costs of managing human-caused climate change in France’s remote regions.
Racha Mousdikoudine, a 38-year-old mother of two in Labatoir, uses bottled water to wash dishes whenever it is available. When the water turned on, she said, “I had to choose between taking a shower or keeping the water supply.”
“In a few years this shortage will be global. This is an opportunity for all French people to stand with us. To work with us to find solutions and to make visible what is happening in Mayotte,” she said. “Because this could happen in all the French provinces.”
She is helping to coordinate a protest movement called “Mayotte is Thirsty” that is demanding accountability for alleged corruption, leaks and a lack of investment in sustainable water supplies. At a recent protest, residents walked into the Mayotte Water Management Company singing, shouting and banging empty plastic bottles.
The government is pinning its hopes on the coming rainy season, although residents say it will not be enough to solve deep-rooted water problems. During a crisis visit last week, France’s overseas territories minister thanked the people of Mayotte for “coming to terms with the unacceptable”.
The tap determines the pace of life in Mayotte, an island of about 350,000 people located in northwest Madagascar.
Once every three days, water flows between 4 pm and 10 am, and households are busy preparing food, washing dishes, cleaning the house and doing other water-related things. People living in Mayotte’s poorer neighborhoods without pipes lined up at public taps with paint buckets, plastic cans, reusable bottles – anything to get water.
Then 48 hours later, they were dry again.
“It is important to continue the dialogue with the authorities, but we will not stand aside,” Moodykuddin said. “If we stayed at home, politicians would still say people are resilient and we can cope with this. But we can’t and lives, our physical and mental health and the lives of our children are at risk.”
The water crisis has hit hardest the most vulnerable communities in Mayotte, where the population is predominantly black and many are struggling migrants from neighboring Comoros, facing a new government crackdown.
Previously, water was one of Mayotte’s rare treasures. The mountainous and forested area of Kobani in central Mayotte is dotted with springs and rivers. Combani and the Dzoumogne reservoir further north provide 80% of the island’s water resources.
Today, the bare banks of the Kobani reservoir are cracked by the sun. Its capacity is 1.75 million cubic meters, but it is currently only 10% full. The capacity of the Dzoumogne reservoir is 6.5%.
Mayotte is entering its sixth year of drought and just experienced its driest year since 1997, according to the National Weather Service. Scientists say human-induced climate change is making droughts more frequent and extreme in some parts of the world.
But even without the drought, Mayotte’s water system is unable to meet local demand.
Overseas Affairs Minister Philippe Vigier said during a visit last week that 850 leaks had been discovered since September. Residents regularly film the facilities of Smae, a subsidiary of major French utility Vinci, spraying water into the air and share them online.
As part of the ambitious Marshall Plan announced in September, only one new well delivering hundreds of cubic meters per day has so far come on line.
Local water unions blame water restrictions on insufficient production capacity rather than water shortages.
The central government has pledged urgent work to drill new springs, renovate desalination plants and expand distribution of the country’s bottled water to all residents, not just the most vulnerable.
Residents worry it can’t come soon enough and have heard promises like this before. The desalination plant has faced years of delays, missed deadlines and accusations of subsidies.
It doesn’t have to be this way.
In neighboring Comoros, which has similar volcanic terrain and wet and dry seasons, the United Nations Development Program has a $60 million water management project designed to better capture rainwater and track usage.
Comoros is one of the poorest countries in the world, while France is one of the richest and should not need UN aid. But Mayotte’s water crisis highlights the unequal and awkward relationship between the central government in Paris and the former colony that remains part of France.
In Mayotte, wealthier residents invest in personal water tanks, which cost €1,600 ($1,700) each to install, to ensure a constant flow of water.
But Mayotte, where most of the population lives below France’s poverty line, must heed the local government’s repeated message that “every drop counts.” According to the national statistics agency Insee, 50% of people live on less than 160 euros ($170) a month, and most do not have the option of 5.50 euro ($5.90) bottled water imported from mainland France.
Instead, they drink brackish water or no water at all. Hunger is also worsening as drought reduces crop yields.
Local medical staff noted an increase in the incidence of acute gastroenteritis, as well as typhoid and cholera (20 patients were admitted to intensive care units in one month).
But Ben Issa Ousseni, president of the Mayotte provincial council, told local broadcaster Mayotte 1ère that he believed “the crisis is still before us.”
He did not rule out the possibility of a complete disruption to household supplies.
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Cyril Castelliti contributed to this report from across Mayotte.
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