Towards sustainable water services in La Paz, Bolivia

Woman in Chuquiaguillo siphoning water from tank to fill jerry cans. Photo: Erma Uytewaal, IRC.

A Dutch-funded project aims to bring piped drinking water to peri-urban neighbourhoods of the Bolivian capital La Paz. What will determine its success? Is it the inhabitants’ willingness and ability to pay for improved water services? No, the biggest threat to the sustainability of the project is the lack of a national sector strategy that clearly outlines how to finance the full costs of service delivery.

At present, the 125,000 inhabitants of the Chuquiaguillo sub-district have to rely on a network of plastic/flexible tubes providing untreated water through public taps. Or they get water from water tankers and unprotected springs.

“Network of plastic/flexible tubes providing untreated water” in Chuquiaguillo. Photo: Erma Uytewaal, IRC.

The Chuquiaguillo Water Supply Service Improvement and Extension Project will connect 25,000 homes to a new water supply system by 2015. The system consists of a water treatment plant and 50 km of distribution pipes. The project wants to ensure that services are sustained long after the infrastructure is in place. The IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre contributed to this aim by supporting consultants Royal HaskoningDHV to carry out a socio-economic feasibility study of the Chuquiaguillo project. The study examined the pro-poor impact of the project and the ability and willingness of the poor to pay for the services.

Royal HaskoningDHV and water operator Vitens Evides International (VEI) are advising Bolivia’s state-run water utility EPSAS to implement the Chuquiaguillo project. It faces several technical and environmental challenges due to the difference in altitude between the water reservoir and the service area, and climate change (for more details see the NL Agency website).  The project is being financed by the Facility for Infrastructure Development (ORIO), a grant scheme operated by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Critical for the project’s sustainability is a national sector strategy that clearly outlines how to finance the full costs of service delivery. As it stands now, tariffs only cover direct operations and some maintenance costs. In line with the present governments’ pro-poor policy, service providers apply a solidarity tariff for the first 10 cubic metres of water. However, it is unclear how the solidarity tariff will be subsidised. This needs to be clarified in a sector financing strategy, which also promotes a life-cycle costs approach (LCCA) in which all costs for capital expenditure, capital maintenance, and direct and indirect support are covered.

The social action plan, to be implemented by EPSAS, will also contribute to the sustainability of the project. Enhanced transparency and accountability are important elements of the plan. This refers to  performance indicators on service levels provided, cost recovery, investments, customer satisfaction, and operation and maintenance (O&M).

For more information contact Erma Uytewaal

For more on IRC’s activities in Latin America go to: www.irc.nl/page/36926

For more on the Life-cycle costs approach go to: www.washcost.info

For more on sustainable service delivery go to: www.waterservicesthatlast.org

Colombia: delegation of project approval to certified water utilities

Vivienda minister Germán Vargas Lleras and Bucaramanga state water utility (AMB) general manager Ludwig Stünkel García at a public event. Photo: Julián Sabogal. MVCT

The Acueducto Metropolitano de Bucaramanga (AMB) is now the 5th certified public utility sanctioned by the Colombian government to approve water and sanitation projects.

In a press release the  housing, cities and land ministry (MVCT) said new legislation approved in 2012 had made this delegation of powers to municipal water utilities. The ministry said this cuts red tape so that projects can be approved faster.

Previous certified public water utilities were Aguas de Cartagena, Empopasto, Aguas de Manizales and Empresas Públicas de Armenia.

Related websites:

• MVCT - Viceministerio de Agua y Saneamiento
• IRC/Triple-S – Water services that last – Colombia overview

Source: MVCT [in Spanish], 06 Dec 2012 ; BNamericas.com / WaterWorld.com, 06 Dec 2012

Water Week Latinoamérica (WWLA), Viña del Mar, Chile, 17-22 March 2013

Organised by: Fundación Chile and Diario Financiero, in collaboration with  AIDIS, DesalData, Global Water Intelligence, and The Nature Conservancy

This first Water Week Latinoamérica (WWLA) provides a platform for sharing water-related experiences and practices among the scientific, business, political, and civil society.

Topics include: 1) Water & Industry, 2) Water & Food Security, 3) Water Supply & Sanitation, 4) Water Governance, 5) New Water Supply, 6) Water & Conservation, 7) Water & Energy & Climate Change, and 8) Transboundary Basins.

Abstract deadline: 09 November 2012

Contact for further information and participation possibilities: hsorasahi@fundacionchile.cl

Website: www.waterweekla.com

Bolivia: Cuchumuela first municipality to reach 100 percent water coverage

Water supply in Cuchumuela. Photo: José Rocha, Los Tiempos

Villa Gualberto Villarroel, better known as Cuchumuela, is the first municipality in Bolivia to achieve 100 percent water coverage. Official recognition for their achievement came from Bolivia’s water and environment ministry MMAyA. It is the story of a successful partnership between local government, communities and an international NGO, Water for People.

According to Mayor Oscar Terrazas, the foundation for achieving water for all 2,000 inhabitants of Cuchumuela was laid in 1996 when Bolivia passed the law on popular participation (Ley de Participación Popular). This gave local government and communities the power to set their own priorities for local services. Each of the 15 autonomous communities in Cuchumuela is responsible for the financial management and maintenance of their fully metered water system.

Spanish Cooperation Fund for Water and Sanitation launches new web site

The Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID, has launched a new website (in Spanish only) for its Cooperation Fund for Water and Sanitation, a financing instrument that supports water and sanitation initiatives in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Launched on 7 June 2011, it provides detailed information about the fund and is set to host a list of upcoming tenders carried out by Spain’s partner organisations and countries. The website also contains eligibility criteria and application instructions.

The Cooperation Fund for Water and Sanitation began operating in 2008 with a US$ 1.5 billion budget. The launch of the website is line with the Spanish government’s commitment to make the fund’s operation more transparent, AECID explains in a news release.

Web site: www.fondodelagua.aecid.es

Source: Ivy Mungcal, Devex.com, 08 Jun 2011

Latin American development bank CAF and PAHO sign water and sanitation agreement

CAF – Latin American development bank – and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) have agreed to expand their cooperation on access to water, sanitation and health in the region. The agreement, signed on April 1st, 2011, was an amendment to an earlier Framework Agreement on Technical Cooperation signed on January 3rd, 2011.

CAF has been active in the sector for over 20 years and in the last five years it has approved about US$ 1.80 billion for the water sector. Most recently CAF approved US$ 12 million for water and sanitation projects in five districts of Bolivian city El Alto in La Paz department.

The CAF president Enrique García said:

“the importance of this signing is that we are joining forces with the world’s oldest public health organization which is actively working in the region. The resulting synergy will strengthen the mechanisms required for disease prevention.”

Related web sites:

• CAF – Integrated Water Program
• PAHO – Water and Sanitation | Drinking Water

Source: CAF, 05 Apr 2011 ; BNamericas.com [subscription site], 13 Apr 2011 ; PAHO [in Spanish], 02 Apr 2011

1st Regional Forum on Water Integrity, San Salvador, El Salvador, 16-18 February 2011

Organised by: Water Integrity Network (WIN), RRASCA (Regional Network for Water and Sanitation in Central America), FANCA (Fresh Water Action Network Central America), the Regional Committee of Alianza por el Agua and GWP (Global Water Partnership) Central America

Theme: Water Integrity (WI) in Central America.

During the forum, an analysis of the state of integrity in the water sector in the (Spanish speaking) Central American countries will be presented and discussed. Cases on good practices of anti-corruption, transparency and accountability work in the region (and other parts of the world) will also be presented.

Expected outcomes:

• A “Regional Report on Water Integrity”, including the cases presented at the Regional Forum, to be published after the event
• Launch of a (sub) regional WIN coalition for Central America

For more information (also in Spanish) and contact details go to the WIN web site

Bolivia: US$126mn CAF loan for water and irrigation projects

The Bolivian government has approved a US$ 126 million 14-year loan from Andean Development Cooperation (CAF) for water and irrigation project (PROAR) as part of a five-year programme. Over 600,00 people will get new (400,000 people) or improved (200,000) access to drinking water.

The projects, involving the Ministry of Environment and Water (MMyA) in coordination with municipal governments, will serve rural scattered populations and small towns. Implementation will start in January 2011.

Related web site: CAF – Programa Agua y Riego para Bolivia – PROAR

Source: ABI [article 232763, in Spanish], 24 Nov 2010

Bolivia, Santa Cruz: mayor “re-municipalises” town water supply in San Miguel de Velasco

The mayor of San Miguel de Velasco in Santa Cruz department, Pedro Damián Dorado, has proposed to “re-municipalise” the town’s water supply, due to poor management and quality of the service.
The mayor expressed anger at the current water operator (Cosesmi Ltd) and the Civic Committee for a recent water cut that lasted three days.

According to media reports, the Civic Committee carried out the cut intentionally because social and indigenous organizations in San Miguel de Velasco refused to attend a Committee meeting.

On 29 September 2010 there were street protests because the water being supplied by Cosemi was said to be contaminated. According to a report by the Department of Health Services, the water in San Miguel de Velasco is unfit for human consumption.

Source: Los Tiempos [in Spanish], 11 Nov 2010 ; El Deber [in Spanish]

Jamaica: Story in the Observer forced NWC into action

Image via Wikipedia

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. 

Source: Jamaica Observer, November 09, 2010

BY Paul Henry