29 Oct 2014

American Samoa Power Authority begins drought protocol

10:17 am on 29 October 2014

A lack of rain in American Samoa has prompted the Power Authority is to begin reducing water pressure.

October has been the third month in a row where rain levels have been below normal, prompting the authority to begin implementing drought protocols.

Samoa News quotes the power autority's executive director, Utu Abe Malae, as urging the public to conserve water and to report all water pipe leaks.

He says he wants to avoid shutting down the canneries for lack of water, which happened during the droughts of 1974 and 1983.

Utu says the drought protocol helped avoid the canneries from being shut down in 1998, when American Samoa experienced the worst drought on record.