By Giff Johnson
For Variety

MAJURO — Responding to a worsening fresh water shortage in the Marshall Islands, the government has declared an emergency for six islands, dispatching water-making equipment and water storage tanks to help these remote populations.
The emergency declaration issued by the government’s Cabinet at the weekend directs the National Disaster Committee to “seek relief assistance from the United States Federal Emergency Management Agency and other international donors to supplement the efforts of the Marshall Islands government in providing the necessary assistance to all affected people,” said president’s office spokesman Bob Jericho.
There was no immediate response from U.S. officials about the Marshall Islands disaster assistance request. The Marshall Islands is a former U.S. territory that remains closely associated with the United States through a Compact of Free Association through which numerous U.S. federal government services are provided.
The Marshall Islands government’s Australian-provided patrol vessel was dispatched from Majuro over the weekend to three remote western atolls whose fresh water ran out earlier this month and who are relying on well water for drinking water, according to reports from these islands. The vessel is carrying tanks and a reverse osmosis water-maker to provide a supply to get the islands with their population of from 100 to about 400 people through the drought that is expected to ease by early May.
Jericho said that the patrol vessel will “do several rounds to those atolls” before returning to the capital to keep them supplied with water.
Another government transport vessel was gearing to leave Majuro for three other remote outer atolls on Wednesday this week, carrying water and large catchment tanks to the atolls to help them with maintaining a water supply, Jericho said.
Justina Langidrik, the secretary of health and acting head of the disaster committee, said that the plan is to turn on two reverse osmosis water making machines in the capital, Majuro, to help ease the drought situation for about half of the country’s 60,000 population lives here.
As of Monday this week, Majuro’s reservoir was down to less than six million gallons of water — less than a five-day supply at current use levels — its lowest level since the late 1990s. “If we get to five million gallons, then we’ll reduce water hours to one day a week,” said Majuro Water and Sewer Company manager Terry Mellan. City water is currently limited to just two days per week, on Monday and Friday mornings and evenings.
Majuro has received almost no rain in March, and many of the more northern and western islands have received almost no rain since the end of January. This low-lying atoll nation depends on rain for about 95 percent of its drinking water.