THE Boerasirie Conservancy on the East Bank Essequibo has dropped to a "dangerously low" level, an official reported yesterday, indicating that it is only a matter of time until other areas feel the effects of the current harsh dry weather.

And Police were called in after it was discovered that a farmer at Pouderoyen, West Bank Demerara, had opened a door of the irrigation structure there on Tuesday to get water into his fields, the official said.

The Georgetown Sewerage and Water Commissioners (GS&WC) yesterday said it is bracing for any eventualities, arming itself with a four-point contingency plan.

Rainfall last month was unusually low, the Meteorological Office reported yesterday.

Senior Meteorological Technician, Mrs. Lisa Farnum-Ramjoo said rainfall in the usually rainy December amounted to 87.7 millimetres, some 66 per cent less than what was expected.

Mid-November to mid-January is usually one of only two rainy seasons in Guyana. The other occurs from around mid-April to mid-July.

Region Three (West Demerara/Essequibo Islands) Chairman, Mr. Esau Dookie told the Chronicle that the Boerasirie Conservancy yesterday stood at 57 feet, a level he called "dangerously low."

Dookie, who inspected the conservancy along with officers of the Uitvlugt Sugar Estate, said farmers should begin to maximise the use of water being made available when the kokers and similar structures are opened to let water onto their farmlands.

He said the regional administration is taking no chances and is soon to start pumping water from the Waramina Canal, East Bank Essequibo, into the 156 square-mile Boerasirie Conservancy to ensure an adequate supply of water to rice lands for the next four to eight weeks.

Dookie is calling on farmers to avoid wasting water during this crucial time and not to open the structures to let water in without permission.

Anticipating low water levels as a result of the low rainfall, General Manager of GS&WC, Mr. Gladstone Fausett told the Chronicle that a contingency plan has already been worked out.

Firstly, he said two more pumps are to be put into operation at the Shelter Belt this month to supplement the two that are in operation.

One of the pumps is to be started up today, while the other will be put into operation in three weeks.

Secondly, Fausett said arrangements have been made with the management of the East Demerara Conservancy to clean that facility so that there will be an even flow of the water.

Thirdly, he said preparations are being made to desilt the catchment area of the "raw water" pumps so that more water could be kept for use at the required time.

Fourthly, he said GS&WC could also vary the high pressure schedule if the need arises in order to make maximum use of the water available.

In Georgetown, 60 per cent of residents receive water from wells, while the other 40 per cent get from the Lamaha Canal.

Chief Executive Officer of the Guyana Water Authority (GUYWA), Mr. Karran Singh assured that there is no immediate threat to the agency's customers.

However, he said citizens still ought to conserve on water and use it in a wise way.

Singh said that in the dry season, water consumption is obviously high since surface water dries up and persons are forced to use that provided for drinking to "water their kitchen gardens and so on."

He said GUYWA customers face no immediate threat from the low rainfall mainly because 90 per cent of them are serviced from artesian wells.

The Meteorological Office is predicting lower rainfall rates in the coming months, with the driest expected to be February and March.