Government last night appealed for the people of Bermuda to conserve water as the Island's supplies began to reach dangerously low levels.

Works and Engineering Minister Alex Scott said there would be enough water to go around, if everyone took steps to avoid waste.

The dry weather has resulted in shrinking supplies and, yesterday, wells at the water plants around the Island contained just inches of water, instead of the usual several feet of water.

Mr. Scott said the plants were producing one million gallons of water a day, but demand had increased by ten percent recently.

He said: "If everyone acts in a sensible fashion we will have enough water to go around.

"We are producing one million gallons of water a day, Island-wide, but the demand is for one million, one hundred thousand gallons.

"Government will continue to do as much as it can to have adequate water to supply the Country, but, at the same time, I am issuing an appeal to everyone to conserve water wherever they can.

"We are not in a crisis, but we are having to manage the situation and ration the amount of water people can have.'' The Royal Gazette reported yesterday how Government had reduced the flow of water coming out of the plants, leading to criticism from operators of water trucks which supply residents and businesses.

They said it was taking too long to fill their trucks, which was resulting in delays in delivering supplies.

And they said Bermuda needed bigger water pumps and additional desalination plants to keep up with demand.

But last night, Mr. Scott said there was a limit to how much water the Government could produce to ensure the environment remained intact and the quality of the water remained high.

He added: "It is irresponsible for those water truckers who don't have all the facts to simply say `produce more, give more water'.

"They have to realise that we are talking about preventing damage to our water lens and ensuring that we have good, clean, safe water.'' He said the Government plants were producing as much as they always had, but that the demand right now was greater, putting more strain on supplies.

However, a new plant soon to open in the East End of the Island will double the capacity of water available to residents.

The plant, which will be located at the old Club Med property, is expected to be up and running by August.

And Mr. Scott praised those Bermudians who had started to conserve water, but said hotel guests needed to do more.

Representatives of the Bermuda Water Trucker's Association (BWTA) met with the Ministry of Works and Engineering yesterday to discuss the issue of supply.

The meeting was planned weeks ago, but BWTA chairman Cal White said it was one of a number of meetings they had with Government over the past year to establish a relationship and express their concerns.

And secretary of the group Grant Darby last night said the association wanted to distance itself from negative comments made by independent truckers over the Government's handling of the water issue.

He said: "We do not echo their comments at all. Yes, it's tough and we are having trouble supplying the general public, but we are satisfied Government is doing everything it can.

"Government and the association are working very closely and have been doing so for some time.

"But we would also urge people to conserve water wherever they can.'' Some of Government's water conservation suggestions are: Do not use running water to wash vegetables -- use a basin; Wash dishes a basin full at a time; Do not run the tap to cool your drinking water -- keep a bottle in the fridge; Only wash laundry when you have a full load; Take a quick shower and turn off the water while soaping and shampooing; Turn off the tap while brushing teeth; Lower level of water used when flushing toilet; and Check all water fittings and fixtures for leaks and repair immediately.

WATER WAT