Ecuador, Guayaquil: campaign “Don’t Let History Repeat Itself” aimed at Bechtel

Activist NGO Food and Water Watch has launched a campaign  to force Bechtel to pay all debts and fulfill its contractual obligations before selling off it concession for the management of Guayaquil city’s water supply service. Bechtel was involved in the failed privatisation of Cochabamba’s water supply in Bolivia which lead to the infamous “Water Wars” in 2000.

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Mexico accused 200 times before LatAm water tribunal

Mexico has been accused 200 times before the Latin American Water Tribunal (LAWT), making it the country with the most complaints since hearings started in 2000, advisor for the entity’s scientific-technical commission Ricardo Valverde told BNamericas. “Not all of them have been taken to hearings,” he said.

In 2007, 21 cases from Mexico plus one from Chile and another from Peru were reviewed in LAWT’s 4th regional hearing. The LAWT only started to monitor South American countries in 2006. Currently the tribunal is organising a hearing to be held in both Chile and Argentina.

Source: Renzo Dasso, BNAmericas [subscription site], 31 Jan 2008

Colombia: EPM to provide water services in other countries

Medellín-based multi-utility EPM (Empresas Públicas de Medellín) has been contacted by officials from Central America,  Brazil, Ecuador and Peru (Sedapal) interested in having the company provide water services in a number of cities, Sandra Ocampo, director of Medellín’s international investment and cooperation agency told BNamericas.

Source: Eva Medalla, BNAmericas [subscription site), 30 Jan 2008

Peru: water conservation will save Govt US$ 540 million

A new water conservation programme will save the Peruvian state 1.6bn soles (US$ 540 million), said housing, construction and sanitation minister, Enrique Cornejo. The programme, administered by the ministry led by Cornejo, water utility Sedapal - serving capital Lima and neighboring city Callao – and Banco de la Nación (BN), is expected to save about 760,000m3 of water every month. BN has approved a 50mn-sol credit line for central and local governments to finance the water saving projects.

Source: BNAmericas.com [subscription site], 18 Jan 2008

Brazil: Saae saves US$4mn by using electronic bidding

Brazilian independent water and waste company Saae, serving the city of Sorocaba 95km west of São Paulo, saved 7.4 million reais (US$4.2 million, equal to 27% of expected expenditure) in 2007 by using electronic bidding for the purchase of equipment and services, the company said.  Because it reduces bureaucratic procedures, electronic bidding is also faster.

Source: BNAmericas [subscription site], 18 Jan 2008

Honduras, Tegucigalpa: Sanaa to launch US$16mn potable water project

Honduras’ national water utility Sanaa will launch a 300 million lempira (US$ 15.8 million) potable water project in Tegucigalpa, serving 100,000 people, on 10 March 2008, newspaper La Prensa reported.  The project is financed by the European Union with additional funds loaned by local NGO Fundación Agua para Todos (FUNDAPAT) for pipelines.

Source: BNAmericas [subscription site],  17 Jan 2008

See also: Wikipedia – Water supply and sanitation in Honduras

Bolivia: Morales anticipates Spanish aid for water projects

In May 2008, Bolivian President Evo Morales expects to sign a potable water and irrigation financial cooperation agreement with his Spanish counterpart José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, La Paz state news agency ABI reported. In November 2007, Zapatero announced a US$ 1.5 billion Water Fund for Latin America. According to Morales, Zapatero said most of the funding will go to Bolivia.

Source: BNAmericas.com [subscription site], 10 Jan 2008

Morales announced Bolivia would invest US$621 million in 2008 for potable water services, water resources management and irrigation.

Source: BNAmericas.com [subscription site], 23 Jan 2008

Argentina: the negative effects of nationalizing water services

Argentina’s government-controlled water utility Aysa, which serves Buenos Aires, was unable to satisfy demand at the beginning of 2008, due to insufficient service expansion investments. About two years ago, the federal government revoked then-concessionaire Aguas Argentinas’ contract because the company allegedly also failed to carry out promised investments as well as reports of nitrate pollution. These failures were not the result of corporate negligence alone, says BNAmericas, but also of 2002 emergency legislation, which forced Aguas Argentinas to freeze its rates despite the devaluation of the peso. Now rates have remained frozen without finding sufficient new investment needed to cope with demand pushed up by high summer temperatures. Financial analysts have called for realistic pricing and the introduction of subsidies to help inhabitants cope with increased rates.

Source: Eva Medalla, BNAmericas [subscription site], 10 Jan 2008

El Salvador: Cesta asks congress to speed up water law approval

 El Salvadorian environmental NGO Cesta – Friends of the Earth has asked the country’s executive branch and legislative assembly to speed up the approval of the new general water law and potable water law, daily La Prensa reported.

The general water law would regulate resource usage in the country, while the potable water law would oversee extraction for human consumption.

Source: BNAmericas.com [subscription site], 9 Jan 2008

Mexico, Toluca: water supply good only for another 5-10 yrs

Water supply for Mexico state (Edomex) capital Toluca is guaranteed only for another 5-10 years, daily El Universal reported.

The situation is aggravated by the fact that 400 public buildings, all the churches and 25,000 residents do not pay their water bills, with losses from leaks and theft adding up to 400 l/s. Use for some residents is 350 litres a day while the average is 170-200l.

Source: BNAmericas.com [subscription site], 8 Jan 2008