"The situation is very dangerous because of years of continuous drought," said Hammadi Habib, an Agriculture Ministry official. Tunisia already has food supply problems thanks to high global prices and the government's own financial difficulties, which have reduced its capacity to buy imported food and subsidise farms at home. "It is time for the authorities to declare a state of water emergency," said Radhia Smine of the Tunisian Observatory of Water. Thousands of families will lack drinking water," she added. "If we do not take decisions in January to reduce irrigation water and ration water use now to prioritise drinking water... then for sure in August we will not have drinking water in the capital or coastal regions," said Habib, the agriculture ministry official.

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