Yann Monplaisir does not mince his words the day after the mobilization of several of his constituents who have been without water for more than a week. For the mayor of Saint-Joseph, “it is not France, it is not the government, it is our local authority which has failed”.
Tension is at its peak in all homes, businesses and institutions with water restrictions since the start of the severe drought currently hitting Martinique. This year again, the flow of catchment rivers is at its lowest, hence the draconian restrictions decided by those involved in resource management, in conjunction with the State.
For example, several schools deprived of water are forced to close, while health establishments affected by the shortage are struggling to ensure the daily hygiene of their patients. This is particularly the case at Saint-Joseph hospital where the staff is in “system D” mode. Individuals are exasperated, like Gisèle, because of ephemeral water tricks.
I’m 75 years old, I’m struggling, I have pathologies, I have all the difficulties… it’s not normal that the swimming pools fill up in the south and that in Saint Joseph where there are reserves of water, I have to poop quickly to flush the toilet, when I shower it’s just as quickly. Then you have to quickly plug in the washing machine… I’ve been stressed for a week.
Gisèle, a local josephine(at the microphone of Ronan Bonnec)
After mobilizing alongside his constituents on Monday May 13, 2024 on the city’s storage site (in the Rivière-Blanche district) in the company of a few members of the ecological association (Assaupama), the mayor of the commune questions and no longer contains its criticisms of those responsible for water management in Martinique.
According to Yann Monplaisir, a debt arrears of 13 million euros from the CTM (Territorial Authority of Martinique) owed to SAUR – Société d’Aménagement Urbain et Rural (the delegated operator of the public drinking water service on the territory), would be one of the crux of the problem, for “a more equitable distribution”.
I believe that we must be transparent with the population. When you don’t pay your supplier, the latter necessarily has difficulties. As a result, SAUR did not carry out the maintenance work for which it was contractually committed. This dates back to 2023. As a result, the project was postponed to be undertaken during the Lent period (…). It is not France, it is not the government, it is our local authority which has failed.
Yann Monplaisir, mayor of Saint-Joseph
Following the two consecutive meetings, on the one hand between the president of the executive council of the CTM (Serge Letchimy) and the president of Cap Nord (Bruno Nestor Azérot), and also between other political actors and farmers, decisions have been made.
Due to work to be carried out on a sand trap, the Vivé plant in Lorrain “can only ensure the delivery of 20,000 m3 of drinking water per day”. But Serge Letchimy promises an improvement in the throughput of the island’s main production unit.
The work to be carried out on the sand trap will begin at the end of June 2024, for a period of one month, in order to increase delivery capacities to 24,000 m3 of drinking water per day, (and) the launch of technical studies relating to increasing the maximum production capacity of the Vivé plant to 35,000 m3 of drinking water per day, thus making it possible to improve the distribution of drinking water in Martinique.
Serge Letchimy, PCE of Martinique
The president of the Cap Nord agglomeration community, for his part, announced “the search for lasting solutions consisting of exploiting new underground sources” in Lorrain and Grand Rivière in particular.
Bruno Nestor Azérot specifies, however, that“despite the exploitation of the maximum production capacities of the Morestin source, the resource available at present does not make it possible to meet all the needs of the inhabitants of northern Martinique.”
The EPCI plans the additional renewal of 44 kilometers of network between 2024 and 2026. Work to upgrade the Galion water supply in Trinité should also begin at the end of 2024.
For his part, the prefect of the territory announced this Tuesday, May 14, 2024, at the end of the meeting the day before with the other actors on the situation, an imminent decree (planned for Friday, May 17). Professionals will have to reduce their consumption by at least 20%.
The situation experienced by Martinique is indeed exceptional. It tends to reach that which it had in 1973, the reference year in terms of drought, temperatures above average, rainfall 70% lower than the average of the last 30 years in the month of April ( …). It was necessary that we go beyond territorial contingencies, that in consultation with elected officials and water operators, we could examine the areas of effort on which we will work in the coming days. The decree will essentially consist of formalizing the territorial solidarity that must be ours, that is to say, calling on economic actors to optimize water production on the one hand and better distribute it on the other.
Jean-Christophe Bouvier, prefect of Martinique(at the microphone of Marc-Francois Calmo and Ronan Bonnec)
But these chain consultations should have been held well in advance of the drought problems, regret the impacted users, who consider that “the problem is political”, Yann Monplaisir first.
They come to explain to us that because we met yesterday evening (Monday May 13), we will have water because we will increase productivity (…). Me, I am revolted to see that we do not want to connect networks, that we entrust Martinique’s water policy to a private company, while elected officials are not able to meet despite all the calls which are launched by everyone, insisting that Martinican experts are better able to manage Martinican affairs.
We pray that one day there will be a single authority for the management of the resource, but that will not fundamentally change anything, because if we put at the head of this authority our political friend, our cousin or our obligee. politician with whom we have made an electoral transaction, it will not work.
Yann Montplaisir, 1st magistrate of Saint-Joseph
As for the Odyssi company which complains of being undernourished in its 4 municipalities (Schoelcher, Fort-de-France, Lamentin and Saint-Jospeh), its president does not mince his words either: “the prefect acceded to the requests of the SME”.
Throughout Martinique, network performance needs to be improved, not only in the territory of the CACEM (Commuanuté d’Agglomération du Center de Martinique), this is a false problem. But I insist on sharing the water of the White River. The prefect wants to limit our withdrawal from this river to 21,000 m2. At this level, we cannot deliver Lamentin and Saint-Joseph. So if we limit our intake, we are forced to buy water that we can produce ourselves. In other words, we are told don’t take more water; instead buy at the SME level to enable them to generate turnover. I find this porting to be completely unfair and I am not the only one to say so. We simply note that the prefect has acceded to the requests of the SME.
Yvon Paquit, chairman of the board of directors of Odyssi(interviewed by Eddylia Eugène-Mormin on Martinique 1ère télé)
As a reminder, the Société Martiniquaise des Eaux (SME) is the distributor for 30 municipalities out of 34 on the island.