A front page story in the newspaper the Observer urged the National Water Commission (NWC) to quickly repair a freshwater pipe and begin work on a ruptured sewer main that for two weeks had caused great discomfort to residents of Waterford in Portmore, St Catherine.
In the story residents complained that a “a pool of sewage, filled with human waste, that had clogged their toilets and sent raw sewage flowing into some homes”.
The problem according to the residents started two weeks ago when a NWC worker came to reconnect a home along Portland West to the sewer system but broke a freshwater pipe and sewer line in the process. As a result what started as small hole in the road became wider later.
A few hours after the newspaper hit the streets NWC workers repaired the pipe and were working feverishly to fix the sewer main — both of which were damaged by workmen.
“We are glad that it is being fixed and we would like it to be done today. We have a heap of pickney (children) here,” said Veronica Brown, an elderly resident of Canewood Road whose toilet, among others, had been clogged and whose house was almost inundated with raw sewage.
Sanitation conditions in Haiti are gradually improving thanks to the efforts of aid workers following the earthquake that devastated the capital Port-au-Prince on 12 January 2010. However, progress has been slow and there are many obstacles that still need to be overcome.
As of 31 January 2010, the damage from the earthquake has left 112,405 dead, 196,595 injured and over 11 million people homeless, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
The Haitian capital lacks sewerage infrastructure and the earthquake ruptured the city’s water lines. Garbage is also accumulating in the streets which is exacerbating the health risks.
The WASH Cluster is now reaching 500,000 people with 5 litres per person per day, according to the DFID situation report of 2 February 2010. With water provision now adequate, sanitation is the next priority. The cluster reports that 7,000 latrines are needed. A distribution plan for 1,169 latrine slabs has been agreed with partners in Port-au-Prince, Leogane and Jacmel.
UNICEF video on emergency water and sanitation in Haiti
The WASH Cluster Haiti Update of 30 January 2010 reports that 292 latrines have been completed or are under construction across the country, serving a potential 29,000 people assuming 1 latrine serves 100 people. The Sanitation Strategic Working Group composed of the WASH Cluster, UNICEF, Oxfam, Care, World Vision, ACF and ICRC are proposing the use of portable chemical toilets through a joint venture between a local sanitation firm and Armal Inc.
Slow Progress
Action Against Hunger (ACF) is distributing potable water and food, although the recovery process is moving slowly, according to Lucile Grosjean from ACF in Haiti. “There is garbage everywhere,” Grosjean said.
The local government did not allow ACF or any organization to dig trenches in the Haitian capital’s central plaza, the Champs de Mars, said Grosjean. These trenches were to be used to dispose of the accumulating waste and human feces of between 20,000 and 25,000 people which have congregated in the area.
As a result, ACF has started to build above-ground latrines and began digging trenches to install the latrines in the Croix Deprez area, according to Grosjean.
At the same time, International Migration Organization (IOM) is distributing tents, hygiene kits, blankets, jerry cans, plastic sheeting, water bladders and water purifying kits, donated by the US, Japanese and Turkish governments. These efforts are expected to benefit some 26,000 people, IOM reported on its website.
Meanwhile, international aid organization Care is distributing hygiene kits and training survivors to purify contaminated water.
Care representatives are showing people how to use the purifying packets, since the objective is for Haitians to start carrying out the process by themselves.
“We are trying to identify people in neighborhoods or communities and train them so they can then go on to train more people,” the official added.
Care will be distributing PUR packets in the coming weeks together with large buckets where water can be purified. The organization will also provide other items such as soap and sanitary napkins.
During the emergency phase of the earthquake, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) ensured a round-the-clock supply of water by trucks to Cité Soleil, the poorest area of the capital Port-au-Prince.
Removing the rubble
The UN Development Programme (UNDP) is working to remove rubble and garbage, in an effort to improve general sanitation conditions.
UNDP is currently employing more than 1,000 Haitians to restart economic activity. After the emergency, the organization hired 700 inhabitants to remove rubble and rehabilitate essential social infrastructure, such as street repairs and electricity.
Prior to the earthquake UNDP had 400 employees carrying out an ecological project in Carrefour, a neighborhood located south of Port-au-Prince. Following the earthquake, the workers and trucks from this project started to remove the rubble and clean streets so other trucks carrying aid could go through, the official said.
In spite of the urgency to reorganize capital Port-au-Prince, resources continue to be limited. UNDP estimates that a US$41.3mn donation is needed for early recovery initiatives in Haiti. This is part of a nearly US$600mn flash appeal launched by UNDP on January 15. The organization estimates some US$58.8mn needs to be invested in water, sanitation and hygiene programs.
Relocation
Using free transport provided by the government, more than 235,000 people have left Port-au-Prince and moved to rural neighborhoods where the effects of the earthquake were not so severe. Some 62,000 have relocated to Artibonite, for example. However, 800,000 people are still living in temporary camps in the capital, OCHA reported.
To avoid the spread of diseases, the government is planning to relocate another 400,000 from Port-au-Prince to new settlements which are being set up. The relocation program will be carried out in the coming weeks.
Next Steps
Haiti declared the search and rescue phase over on 23 January 2010 so international rescue teams are concentrating more on humanitarian aid for those who need it, instead of searching the rubble for survivors.
Multilateral entities such as the World Bank and IDB are already taking steps to waive debts. UK-based charity Oxfam has urged donor countries to have Haiti’s foreign debts cancelled. It called for about US$900mn owed to the UN, the World Bank and countries including the US, France, Canada and Brazil to be written off.
Bolivia’s water and environment ministry (MMAyA) is seeking US$100mn in international funding for the second phase of a program to provide water and sanitation services to residents living just outside the country’s metropolitan areas. The first phase of the project is already underway, and is being financed by US$100mn in loans and donations from the Spanish international cooperation agency (AECI) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
Read full article on: BNamericas.com [subscription site], 25 Jan 2010
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Government of Spain will provide a total of $139 million in grants and loans to Haiti and Bolivia. These are the first projects jointly funded by the US$ 620 million IDB and Spanish Cooperation Fund for Water and Sanitation in Latin America and the Caribbean (the Spanish Fund), an initiative announced in 2008 by Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero.
Bolivia
In Bolivia, the Spanish Fund will contribute US$ 80 million in grants and the IDB another US$ 20 million in ordinary and concessional loans to extend water and sanitation services to some 500,000 people in periurban areas of El Alto, La Paz, Cochabamba, Santa Cruz, and Tarija who are currently without service.
The Bolivian Government estimates that investments of around US$ 700 million are needed in urban areas to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015. Meeting these goals will require increasing access to water supply and sanitation for 1.4 million and 1.7 million inhabitants, respectively.
The US$ 100 million from the Spanish Fund and the IDB will be used for four principal activities: construction of new infrastructure in unserved areas; completion of water and sanitation master plans for La Paz, El Alto, Santa Cruz, Cochabamba and Tarija; institutional strengthening for relevant service operators and government authorities; and establishment of a full-time program coordination unit to audit, evaluate and monitor project execution.
Haiti
In Haiti, the Spanish Fund will contribute US$ 20 million and the IDB another US$ 19 million, both in grants, to help expand and improve water and sanitation services for around 150,000 people Saint-Marc, Port-De Paix, Les Cayes, Jacmel, Ouanaminthe and Cap-Haitien.
Haiti has no sewer networks and, according to the 2003 census, only 8.5 percent of its households are connected to a drinking water distribution system.
To tackle this situation, $14.2 million will help expand the drinking water coverage and US $17 million will be used to help finance individual and collective sanitary systems installation, develop waste collection, transportation and disposal systems, facilitate maintenance of storm drainage systems, and support public hygiene programs. The funds will also finance the institutional and technical strengthening of the National Directorate of Potable Water and Sanitation (DINEPA), as well as a campaign to eradicate parasitic worms associated with poor water and sanitation services, with particular emphasis on treatment of children between the ages of 1 and 12 years.
In addition to Haiti and Bolivia, the IDB and Spain are expected to jointly finance projects in Brazil, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Paraguay, Peru, the Dominican Republic and Uruguay between now and mid-2010. In all, Spain will contribute US$ 407 million in grants to these projects, while the IDB will contribute US$ 213 million in grants and loans, while also assuming the bulk of the project preparation and execution costs. Governments in the region will contribute an additional US$ 77 million in counterpart funds. Around 4 million people in low-income urban and rural communities are expected to benefit directly from these projects.
IDB video on the Spanish Water and Sanitation Cooperation Fund
Authorities and private sector representatives from Mexico’s Ciudad Juárez city are looking to replicate Colombian city Medellín’s infrastructure development strategy to fight crime, an official from Medellín’s international investment and cooperation agency ACI, told BNamericas.
Delegations from Ciudad Juárez’s public and private sectors will visit Medellín on 26 September 2009 to learn about the local government’s infrastructure development plan, which led to socio-economic development and social inclusion.
Nearly a decade ago Medellín authorities started a development program to improve roads, mass transport, water and sanitation, waste collection, and telecommunications and energy services, among others.
Thanks to this infrastructure development plan, the city managed to turn around its image of being one of the world’s most violent cities to become a model of integrated social development.
Other Latin American cities that have expressed interest in replicating Medellín’s model include Ecuador’s Quito and Guayaquil, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, Mexico City, Costa Rica’s San José, El Salvador’s San Salvador, Caracas, and Chile’s Valparaíso and Santiago.
Source: Eva Medalla, BNamericas.com [subscription site], 25 Sep 2009
The Brazilian government announced it will invest 4.5bn reais (US$2.4bn) in 109 basic sanitation initiatives nationwide as part of the country’s growth acceleration plan PAC. Of the total, 3bn reais will be allocated to sewerage projects while 1.5bn reais will be used to fund potable water initiatives, cities minister Marcio Fortes said. The 109 projects will be carried out in 90 municipalities, including cities with populations over 50,000, according to the release.
Among the criteria used to select priority municipalities was the incidence of infant mortality, according to Fortes. “Above all, babies affected by a lack of sanitation caused by bad quality water or the lack of sewage treatment,” he said.
Most of the funding, 3.7bn reais, will come from the country’s federal unemployment insurance fund (FGTS) and the workers support fund (FAT). The remaining 800mn reais will be provided by state and city governments, as well as water and sewerage utilities.
This announcement brings PAC-funded sanitation projects up to 33.7bn reais. Contracts have been signed for a total of 23.8bn reais and 75% of these are underway. Of the 109 selected projects, 70 were presented by 12 state water utilities.
The World Bank (WB) is to finance a US$30mn project to install pipelines in the driest areas of Nicaraguan capital Managua. The project, announced by national water and sewerage utility Enacal, seeks to solve the city’s water supply problem by installing potable water and sewerage systems in 36 locations, mainly in districts five and six.
Enacal executive president Ruth Selma Herrera said that WB is donating US$15mn for the project, and will lend Enacal the rest of the money at an interest rate of 1%, to be repaid over 30 years. The project will begin in 2010 and will benefit some 60,000 residents.
Managua’s mayor Daysi Torres Torres said the municipality will support Enacal throughout the project, including an ongoing awareness campaign to teach people not to dump trash in streams and streets.
The Bolivian government will reduce by up to 50% potable water and sewerage rates charged by state-owned water utility Epsas, serving capital La Paz and neighboring city El Alto. In El Alto 46% of the population lacks access to potable water and sanitation services.
The initiative is part of government efforts to expand these services to a large portion of the cities’ poorest populations. The drop in rates is also part of a government policy that considers basic services a human right.
Authorities decided to halve the price of some connections, while in other cases they were reduced by 30%, García Linera said. According to the vice president, the new rates are financially feasibility for Epsas, which took over the operation of Aguas del Illimani (AISA) after its nationalization in early 2007.
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
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
The IDB has approved a US$15mn grant to the Haitian government to support the country's agricultural sector, according to a release from the development bank. The grant will be used to modernize an...
While the rest of Brazil is eyeing concessions and public-private partnerships (PPPs), southern Rio Grande do Sul state is struggling to progress in this respect, the VP of state roadworks trade group...
Puerto Rico's national water utility AAA is facing a US$340mn deficit by 2014 unless water tariffs are revised, according to a report published by the official examiner responsible for reviewing the p...
Mexico and Costa Rica are leading the way in the development of payments for ecosystem services (PES), according to a report from the OECD. "Payments for ecosystem services can contribute to green ...
Chile's public works ministry MOP has presented the details of a 10-year rural and urban regional infrastructure and water management plan for central-northern region IV, known as Coquimbo region. ...
After months of uncertainty, Peru's government has finally approved a reform that opens up the municipal water utility sector to private investments. The reform aims to overhaul the country's 50 l...
Peru's national water authority ANA has implemented a new procedure for evaluating water rights in environmental impact studies (EISs) to speed up the process, ANA president Hugo Jara told state news...
Chilean water utility Aguas Araucanía, operating in southern region IX, has called a tender for construction of a rural potable water system for the localities of Huapi Trovolhue, Machaco Grande and C...
A WASH News blog maintained by IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre.
