Tunisia has raised its drinking water prices by up to 16 per cent, following a drought that has lasted five years in the country.

After years of drought, average rainfall has increased in recent months but government officials said this week that Tunisian dams have only reached 35 per cent of their stock capacity.

The North African country last year imposed a quota system for drinking water and a ban on its use in agriculture. Since last summer, it has been cutting off water supplies at night.

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The price of water will be unchanged for small consumers, according to Reuters.

Those whose consumption exceeds 40 cubic metres face about 12 per cent increase to 1.040 Tunisian dinars ($0.33) per cubic metre and consumers of between 70 and 100 cubic metres per quarter will pay 13.7 per cent more at 1.490 dinars per cubic metre with immediate effect.

The highest increase is for those whose consumption exceeds 150 cubic metres and for tourist facilities, for which the price per cubic metre has increased by 16 per cent to 2.310 dinars.

Tunisia has launched water desalination plants to try to make up for the country’s lack of dams and the impact of climate change.

The Star