Barbados: water authority bankrupcy forces water rates increase

The July 1st [2009] increase in water rates is necessary because the Barbados Water Authority (BWA), has been rendered “technically bankrupt”, due to losses in each of the past 13 years, except for 2005/06.

Prime Minister David Thompson [...] pointed out that successive losses had forced the BWA to borrow to sustain its operations and its current finances were inadequate to meet debt-service charges. “Government has had to assist. In the past the BWA has sought to halt the slide through measures aimed at improving revenues, with some success, but efforts to contain costs were not successful,” he said.

Mr. Thompson noted that as the gap between expenses and revenues widened, it had become impossible to honour obligations to suppliers on a timely basis, and this had negatively impacted the BWA’s operations.

“The only viable option is to grant a rate increase at this time to permit the conduct of orderly operations, while giving some breathing space for modernising the organisation and commencing a number of projects critical to the development of the water and wastewater sector,” he indicated.

[W]ith respect to bill payments, Mr. Thompson observed that although water was the smallest utility bill for most households, it was often unpaid. He said: “A survey has revealed that residential customers view the BWA as the number two utility and they all agree that water is the most valuable of the utility services.

“However, this has not translated into willingness to pay, since residential customers account for about 60 per cent of the $26 million in arrears owed to the Authority. Some delinquents claim that their reason for not paying is that the other utilities are more aggressive in terminating for non-payment, or that there is no reward for early payment at the BWA.”

The Prime Minister stressed that whatever the true reason, the number of services due for disconnection was about 10,000 per month, which represented a huge disconnection challenge, given the fact that BWA personnel must go on site to perform this service.

Source: Gillian Applewhaite, BGIS, 18 Jun 2009

El Salvador: Anda to modify potable water subsidy

El Salvador’s national aqueduct and sewerage authority Anda [Administración Nacional de Acueductos y Alcantarillados] will modify the structure of its potable water subsidies for residential, business and industrial clients [ ...]. Anda will now pay a subsidy on the first 20m3 consumed monthly. Previously, the company paid a subsidy of roughly 0.40 colones (US$0.05) for every cubic meter consumed. “According to the World Health Organization, a family can survive on 15m3/m of consumption,” Anda president Francisco José Gómez was quoted as saying. Anda statistics show that 52.6% of the population served by the entity will be covered by the new subsidy, the report said.

Related web site: Wikipedia – Water supply and sanitation in El Salvador

Source: BNamericas/a> [subscription site], 12 Jun 2009

Guyana: Government develops strategy to increase access to potable water

Guyana’s housing and water ministry has developed a 10-year strategy to increase access to safe water for 90% of the country’s population. The strategy, which is also expected to strengthen the water and sewerage sectors, will be implemented in the coming months. Ministry head Irfaan Ali said the entity is currently acquiring new infrastructure, working on distribution networks and consolidating existing capital investment.

Also of great importance is the so-called turnaround plan that deals with the reduction of waste and non-revenue water, he said. Budgeted at US$22mn, the 2008-10 turnaround plan was designed for national service provider Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) and focuses on improving water quality and reducing waste levels. The plan also aims to prevent customer service deterioration, improve metering systems, increase billing and collections, and reduce leaks. Once the plan is implemented, GWI is expected to reduce non-revenue water to 25% from 60%, the report said.

Source: GINA, 03 Jun 2009

Jamaica: Minister suspends licensing of privately operated water suppliers

Jamaica’s water and housing ministry will not be issuing any more licenses to private companies looking to provide potable water until the national water policy is revised. Ministry head Horace Chang said that when the policy was formulated in 2002, legislators rushed to involve the private sector and shift the responsibility for investments to provide potable water access from the government.

Dr. Chang was addressing the Rural Water Programme Workshop on the Sustainability of Community Managed Water Supply Systems Project, funded by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), held on 3 June 2009, at the Knutsford Court Hotel, New Kingston.

The ministry’s permanent secretary Genefa Hibbert has been instructed to lead a review of the water sector policy, which has contradictions and unreasonable proposals, Chang said. He added that the impracticality of private suppliers charging water rates competitive with the rate charged by the National Water Commission (NWC) was also posing a problem. “Until the issues are resolved, I’m not signing anymore licenses,” Chang said.

Jamaica’s water sector policy was passed to facilitate development and assist the process of meeting the national goal of universal access by 2010.

Source: JIS, 04 Jun 2009

Bolivia: Govt earmarks US$30mn for basic services in social housing plan

Bolivia’s government announced a US$30mn additional investment for basic services to support its housing program Plan de Vivienda. The funding will cover water, sewerage and electricity installations in social or state-subsidized housing. A third of the houses were initially planned without these services [...].

The US$30mn will come from the national treasury and the ministry, which is using some of the financing available in the budget of the housing and urbanization department. Authorities are also working on improving the social housing program, in order to avoid the design of homes without basic services due to financial reasons, the minister added. The ministry will now focus on designing state-subsidized apartment blocks, which will not need to invest so much in basic service networks.

Source: BNamericas [subscription site], 26 May 2009

Peru: Legislators discuss bill to strengthen local water utilities

A bill to strengthen Peru’s regional water utilities (EPS) was presented by congressman Isaac Serna. The majority of the country’s 50 EPS are on the brink of bankruptcy – having registered negative financial results – and 41 have a total debt of US$1.62bn, according to Serna.

The bill looks to create policies to finance, modernize and reorganize the management of the utilities. Supporters of the bill are requesting that the state set policies to financially help the utilities, which could include resources from the national government.

In addition, the initiative requests regional governments, in coordination with the municipalities that currently manage the EPS, to provide resources and become shareholders in the utilities. The bill also suggests that the EPS merge into one regional company, with the regional capital’s water utility absorbing the rest.

Source: BNamericas [subscription site], 15 May 2009

Bolivia: Morales signs contract for US$84mn Misicuni dam

Bolivia’s President Evo Morales has signed the contract with Consorcio Hidroeléctrico Misicuni to build the 120m-high dam for the Misicuni multipurpose hydro project. [...] The US$84mn project – to be financed by Italy’s government, the Andean Development Corporation (CAF) and local funds – is to supply 3,100 liters of water a second: 2,000 liters for human use and the remainder for irrigation.

The 36-month contract includes the construction of a potable water plant, water pipelines and their respective pumping systems, and an irrigation network. The Hidroeléctrico Misicuni consortium, led by Italian construction firm Grandi Lavori Fincosit, was the only group to submit an offer for the contract.

Bolivia’s government is working on signing another loan for US$100mn, to develop the second phase of the Misicuni project which will generate at least 100MW of power.

Source: BNamericas [subscription site], 17 May 2009

Nicaragua: Govt, Spain spending US$11.5mn on Boaco water, sewerage project

The Nicaraguan and Spanish governments will jointly invest 8.5mn euros (US$11.5mn) to carry out a potable water and sewerage project in the former country’s Boaco municipality. [The] potable water distribution grid and a storage tank [will be completed first at a cost of ] 5.5mn euros [followed by] the sewerage component [which will cost] of 3mn euros. Expected to be completed in 18 months, works are scheduled to start in June [2009] and be [carried out] by national water utility Enacal. The project will benefit 35,000 residents.

Source: BNamericas [subscription site], 14 May 2009

Chile, Brazil: water utilities become energy producers with biogas

Chilean natural gas distributor Metrogas and water utility Aguas Andinas started up operations at the country’s first biogas plant installed at the Farfana water treatment complex on the outskirts of Santiago. The plant will produce 24Mm3/y of biogas and replace about 14Mm3/y of natural gas. “This is the only place in the world where biogas produced by a water treatment facility ends up being used directly in homes,” Metrogas president Matías Pérez Cruz said, adding that the biogas plant is the largest in South America. Investment in the project totaled 3bn pesos (US$5.3mn).

Source: BNamericas [subscription site], 14 May 2009

Meanwhile in Brazil, officials from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and Paraná state water utility Sanepar [have met] to discuss projects to expand power generation sewage treatment plants. [...] Since 2008, Sanepar has been producing electric power from its [Ouro Verde sewage treatment plant in Foz do Iguaçu]. The plant produces energy for its own operations and the surplus is sold to power company Copel. [Sanepar wants to] extend the successful experience of Foz do Iguaçu to all [its] sewage treatment plants.

Source: BNamericas [subscription site], 25 May 2009

Peru, Lambayeque: Swiss development agency to finance basic services projects

SDC – Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (in Spanish Cosude) is interested in financing basic services and environmental projects in Peru’s Lambayeque region, [including] potable water and sanitation, wastewater treatment and solid waste management.

[...] “Our water and sewerage networks need urgent renovation as they are constantly collapsing. Technical studies show that an investment of at least US$350mn is needed to improve the system and give adequate services to the population,” regional president Marco Cardoso Montoya said, adding that 30% of the population lacks access to basic services.

Chiclayo municipal representative Ángel Quiroz Vega said 12mn soles (US$3.92mn) is required to carry out the closure of landfills, while 49mn soles is needed to install a solid waste treatment plant and a sanitary landfill.
Also, regional water utility Epsel said it was treating 90% of wastewater but that it was important to carry out maintenance works at the treatment plants.

Cosude said its support would be non-reimbursable and would include technical assistance for regional and municipal government employees.

Source: BNamericas [subscription site], 14 May 2009