One of the Island's main water suppliers Bermuda Waterworks Limited (BWL) has implemented conservation measures due to the current dearth of serious rainfall, which is depleting groundwater resources.

The news came as Environmental Protection department hydrogeologist Mark Rowe warned people to conserve water in the face of a dry spell that is seeing many water truckers pushed to their full capacities.

"We're running flat out and working long hours," Johnny Eatherley, who runs a water trucking business. "I have three trucks running day and night and I'm working till one o'clock in the morning. But I'm pretty well on top of things. I'm coping."

But Mr. Rowe said he was "surprised" that there has not been more of a crisis and added: "Every day it is going to get worse. By the end of next week, people are definitely going to be waiting for water longer. Conservation is the only key really."

The west end of the Island is currently the worst hit simply because there are water sources such as desalination plants and wells in the area. Overall, the Island is served by five desalination plants and 350 wells.

Mr. Rowe said test drilling for a new brackish water desalination unit will begin next week at the existing sea water plant in Port Royal, Southampton.

The project, estimated to cost between $50,000 and $100,000, is expected to be finished before next summer.

He explained that the extension would expand the production capacity by between 50,000 and 100,000 gallons per day.

Meanwhile, BWL chief executive officer Allan Rance said the company, which serves most of the Island's hotels, has had to adopt conservation measures because "it is extremely dry and there is somewhat of a drought situation".

BWL gets its water from two sources, a sea desalination plant on the North Shore Road in Devonshire and a brackish water desalination plant on Parson's Road.

Mr. Rance said the company was becoming gradually more dependent on the sea water plant and, because of this, "various strategies" were in place to manage water distribution.

"This involves various hydraulic measures to ensure people get water but do not have too much. It is determined by staff going out visiting sites and policing our distribution system as vigilantly as we can. It's die hard work. Droughts are unpredictable."

He said it was a "paradox" that demand for water because of hot weather was peaking at the time when the least water is available.

Mr. Rance added: "This is not an unheard of situation but it's not the norm. We are managing though and it's essentially a matter of trying to manage so that demand and production are reasonably well balanced."

But Mr. Rowe said it takes "quite a long dry spell to seriously affect the water lens".

And Mr. Rance explained, although the water lens has not had any recharge since June, "one has to bear in mind that there is a delay in the time it takes water to percolate through the rock" and this meant the water lens might be better off than first thought.