(Trinidad Express) The Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) is examining the possibility of a clampdown on bottled water companies operating in the country.

The Authority is also planning to introduce water meters to monitor usage and bill customers in at least one part of the country by the third quarter of the year.

In an attempt to protect water supplies during the current drought, WASA has engaged a number of local bottled water companies that access water from wells in east Trinidad, the Express was told. Should the water shortage worsen over the next few months, WASA, (under the WASA Act) has the right to suspend the production of water by bottled water firms, though the companies currently possess a licence for the extraction of water from a number of wells, sources said.

The wells these companies use may be on their private compounds; but, should the water shortage worsen, WASA can legally curtail water extraction activities by the companies.

WASA general manager, communications, Ellen Lewis said on Monday: ’In the context of seeking to ensure the security of the country’s water supplies there are companies, particularly in the bottled water industry that may have wells which WASA may consider it necessary at this time to suspend the production from, in order to protect the aquifers.’

Some of the larger water companies extract about 800,000 gallons of water a month.

They currently pay TT36 cents for every 220 gallons they buy, sources close to the Authority’s operations said. A company would pay WASA just over TT$1,000 to extract the 800,000 gallons of water it used monthly, a source said.

WASA programme manager Stacey Dillon said the Authority will install meters for residents in communities in northwest Trinidad by the end of the third quarter. The rest of the country will be phased in over the next few years, said Dillon.