A new reverse osmosis system to treat seawater promises half a million gallons of water a day, according to the Minister of Works and Engineering and Housing.

Minister Ashfield DeVent told yesterdaythat the new seawater treatment system should be up and running in another 18 months ? ?or somewhere in that region?.

?The costs have not been established yet,? he said.

The system will be run by Works and Engineering and housed at Tynes Bay Waste Treatment Facility.

Bermuda has been wrestling with low rainfall this year and last week a Government reservoir closed in an effort to conserve fresh water.

The Bermuda Weather Service said that the last rainfall (0.30 inches) was on June 26.

To date, only 2.37 inches of rain have fallen this month.

This is significantly below the average June rainfall of 5.03 inches and the next rain is not due until the end of this week.

Rainfall levels are also running below average for the year. To date, Bermuda Weather Service reported that 21.80 inches of rain have fallen in 2004 but the average rainfall in past years had been 26.24 inches at late June.