Public services regulator, Aresep, has called on local water utilities to improve the quality of rural water and sanitation systems.
A study by Aresep of 80 rural water and systems run by local local water and sewerage associations (Asadas*) found that water meters and proper disinfection systems were lacking, and that pipes needed to be replaced. Most users rely on septic tanks because there are no sewerage and wastewater treatment systems.
Asadas run 1864 rural water supply systems, which serve 1.2 million people. They operate independently under a delegation agreement with the national water and sewerage utility AyA.
Aresep proposed measures to protect intake works and water catchment areas from contamination. A study by the National Water Laboratory, published in August 2010, revealed that 31% of rural water supplies were contaminated.
In August 2010, AyA president Oscar Nuñez announced that US$ 480 million was needed to improve and maintain rural water supply systems.
* Asociaciones Administradoras de Sistemas de Acueductos y Alcantarillados Comunales
Related web sites (in Spanish):
Source: Alonso Mata B., La Nacion [in Spanish], 31 Aug 2010 ; InsideCostaRica.com, 02 Sep 2010
Posted in Costa Rica, Governance, Rural WASH, Water quality, Water supply
Tagged Aresep, AyA, public service regulators, rural water supply
Kristen Dalton, Miss USA 2009, traveled to Bayaguana, Dominican Republic with Children International to help raises awareness about the inaccessibility of clean water many children and families face. Dalton worked with Children International, a U.S.-based humanitarian organization to educate impoverished communities on clean-water practices, and assist them in cleaning their primary water source, Los Pomos River.
“Water is the most basic and vital resource there is. It’s heartbreaking to know children living in poverty have limited access to clean drinking water. Many children and families in the communities I visited walk for hours to find clean water, only to store it where it can be contaminated by animals or insects,” said Dalton.
During her trip to Bayaguana, a small city with a large Haitian immigrant population, Dalton was joined by 30 members of Children International’s Youth Health Corps, a group of peer educators teaching their community how to make healthy decisions, and 36 contestants of the Miss Dominican Republic Universe pageant, who all worked together to remove trash in and around Los Pomos River.
After the river cleanup, Dalton joined members of the Youth Health Corps at a seminar for local mothers on the importance of clean drinking water and its proper storage. At the end, she helped distribute water containers to attendees, which will aid in keeping their drinking water clean.
Dalton added, “I met so many children whose families are extremely poor. The village I saw was just a really tiny area of extremely small, wooden or tin huts. The floors are dirt, and many kids do not have beds. It makes me think twice before complaining about the stresses and worries in my life. I have spent mornings worrying about what I’m going to wear. This community is are worried about finding clean drinking water and staying healthy since they do not have access to healthcare. Knowing and seeing the differences in our daily stresses frames my perspective and reminds me not to worry about trivial things. I hope by sharing my experience in Bayaguana, others are inspired into action as well.”
While there, government officials took note of Miss USA’s work with local children and youth. Dominican Republic Vice President Rafael Alburquerque and Cabinet minister Manuel de Jesus Perez Gomez commended Dalton for her advocacy on behalf of impoverished children, and applauded her use of her crown to improve their lives and health. On behalf of the children of his city, the mayor of Bayaguana also thanked Miss USA for her activism.
Children International President and CEO Jim Cook said, “We appreciate Miss USA’s hands-on clean-water work in the name of children in need. She is truly a passionate advocate for impoverished children everywhere.”
Source: Miss USA changes her view on the world after encountering Third-World poverty, DominicanToday, 15 Apr 2010
Uruguay’s state-owned water utility OSE is investing US$15mn to make sure all rural areas have potable water services by end-2011, the government said in a release. The Spanish international cooperation agency for development (AECID) will cover half of the cost, with OSE covering the other 50%.
Read full article on: BNamericas.com [subscription site], 12 Apr 2010
Posted in School sanitation, Uruguay, Water supply
Tagged AECID, OSE, rural water supply, schools, small towns, Spain, water utilities
Access to a safe and reliable water and Sanitation is a difficult challenge in Bolivia and a growing area of focus for humanitarian development.
According to Bolivian government-supplied statistics, the percentage of people with access to safe water in Bolivia is quite high. In rural areas however, the numbers are much lower, with only 68% having access to a safe and reliable water supply and 22% with access to sanitation. Water For People has been working in Bolivia’s rural communities since 1992—almost since its inception—and has maintained an office in the country since 1997.
Water For People’s programs in Bolivia are conducted under the leadership of country coordinator Abraham Aruquipa and a team of five Bolivian professionals.
Water development technologies used in Bolivia include gravity-fed water systems, protected springs, storage tanks, pumped water systems, and locally manufactured household hand pumps. Sanitation projects typically involve the construction of dry-composting latrines, pour-flush and/or conventional flush toilets, and household bathrooms, including some with showers.
Almost all of Water For People–Bolivia’s projects have been constructed in 10 municipalities spread across different geographic regions. Over the next five years, however, Water For People–Bolivia will work more regionally, focusing on municipalities in three departments. Consistent with Water For People’s model, almost all projects have involved working with three primary partners: a government entity, a local nongovernmental organization, and the benefiting community.
Working closely with its in-country staff, Water For People has developed an aggressive strategic plan to make a more meaningful impact in meeting the water and sanitation needs in Bolivia between 2007-2011.
Water For People–Bolivia has supported a total of 176 projects from 1997 through 2006, benefiting more than 42,000 people.
Source:http://www.waterday.org/?uid=paa07D0BCA855AC0D6CB
Project Contacts
Water for People
6666 W. Quincy Avenue
Denver , CO 80235
United States
Phone: 303.734.3490 • Fax: 303.734.3499
www.waterforpeople.org/site/PageServer?pagename=About_Departments
info@waterforpeople.org
A recent water and sanitation sector analysis reported that in 2001, Honduras had reached water coverage of 80% of its total population and 70% of those living in rural areas. But the same study revealed that water quantity and
quality are not adequate, and suggested that the existing infrastructure poses a serious health risk to citizens. An alarming 90% of the water supply is intermittent and unreliable.
This study found that only 44% of the water provided is effectively disinfected and that there is a lack of adequate water quality control and monitoring, especially in rural areas.
Many rural communities have no water infrastructure whatsoever.
Sanitation coverage in Honduras is improving, reaching 68% of the total population but only 50% of the rural populace. There is virtually no sewerage service in rural areas, where latrines are the only practical option for the safe
disposal of human waste. Half of the rural population has no sanitation facilities at all.
Water For People helps people in developing countries improve their quality of life by supporting the development of locally sustainable drinking water resources, sanitation facilities and health and hygiene education programs.
Water For People–Honduras supports 15 to 20 communities each year, helping approximately 15,000 people and plans for growth over the next five years, with a goal of achieving 95% water and sanitation coverage in the three
districts in which it works. It will also work on increasing hand-washing practices by 50%.
Typical projects include protected springs, gravity-fed water systems, pumped water systems, storage tanks, and pour-flush latrines.
Working closely with its in-country staff, Water For People has developed an ambitious strategic plan to make a more meaningful impact in meeting the water and sanitation needs in Honduras between 2007-2011.
Source: http://www.waterday.org/?uid=paa07D0BCA855AC0D6CB
Related news: Output-Based Aid: challenges for OBA Facility for the water and sanitation sector in Honduras, Source Weekly, 22 January 2010.
Project Contacts
Water for People
6666 W. Quincy Avenue
Denver , CO 80235
United States
Phone: 303.734.3490 • Fax: 303.734.3499
www.waterforpeople.org/site/PageServer?pagename=About_Departments
info@waterforpeople.org
Chilean President Michelle Bachelet will due to sign a bill to guarantee water access rights to small communities by the end of 2009, an official from the presidential office said. The lower house issued a unanimous final approval of the bill on 15 December 2009. The bill preserves water access rights for small farmers, indigenous communities, and rural potable water systems between regions XV and VI.
Read the full article on: BNamericas.com [subscription site], 16 Dec 2009
Posted in Chile, Policy & legislation, Water resources management
Tagged right to water, rural water supply
Jamaica has developed a J$477mn (US$5.81mn) mitigation program to address its increasing water shortage. The mitigation and conservation measures will increase the available water supply by five million gallons per day. In addition, 22 rural water supply projects costing J$97.2mn are being implemented.
Read the full article on: BNamericas.com [subscription site], 10 Dec 2009
Thanks to US$ 50 million in grants from Spain and US$ 50 million in loans from the Inter-American Development (IDB) Guatemala will expand safe water and sanitation services to approximately 600,000 people in 280 rural communities and 60 urban and periurban areas that today lack those services.
In addition to enhancing and expanding water and sanitation services, the program will foster organized participation by the rural communities and the municipalities in order to ensure that the systems constructed are sustainable over time. The funds will also serve to consolidate and strengthen the institutions needed for the planning, regulation and delivery of the services.
The program will lend support to a comprehensive plan drawn up by the Government of Guatemala to reduce the shortfall in coverage of these services. Current water and sanitation service coverage, nationwide, is 75 percent and 47 percent, respectively, which means that nearly 3 million Guatemalans still lack public water services and approximately 6 million lack sanitation services.
In the rural areas of Guatemala, water coverage is 60 percent, sanitation 36 percent. The worst shortfalls are found in areas with predominantly indigenous populations. According to Government estimates, only 15 percent of the water distributed in the country can be considered potable and barely 5 percent of the sewerage systems properly treat wastewater prior to disposal. To achieve United Nations Millennium Development Goals, Guatemala would have to invest an estimated $1,602 million in improving these services.
This is the fourth project financed jointly by the IDB and the Spanish Cooperation Fund for Water and Sanitation in Latin America and the Caribbean (the Spanish Fund), an entity established in 2009 at the initiative of the President of Spain, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero.
[...]
Apart from the project in Guatemala, the IDB and Spain are co-financing projects in Haiti, Bolivia and Paraguay, and between now and mid-2010 they are expected to finance projects located in Brazil, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, Peru and Uruguay. All in all, Spain will donate US$ 407 million to those projects, while the IDB will contribute US$ 213 million in grants and loans, in addition to defraying the bulk of the their preparation and implementation costs. Some 4 million people living in low-income urban and rural communities are expected to benefit directly from these projects.
Initially, the program will be executed by the National Peace Fund (FONAPAZ) with the support of the Ministry of Public Health and Social Assistance. Nineteen months into the Program, responsibility for executing it will pass to the Municipal Development Institute (INFOM/UNEPAR).
Of the loans granted to the program by the IDB, US$ 40 million will be for a 30-year term, with a 5.5 year grace period, at a variable interest rate based on Libor, while the remaining US$ 10 million will be for a 40-year term with a grace period of 40 years, and an interest rate of 0.25 percent. The IDB could eventually consider financing a second phase of the program with an additional US$ 100 million loan.
Project information: IDB – Water and Sanitation Program for Human Development-Phase I
Related web sites:
Contact:
Source: IDB, 23 Nov 2009
See below an IDB video on the Spanish Water and Sanitation Cooperation Fund
Dominican Republic national water utility Inapa has awarded a consultancy contract for a water and sanitation project for San Juan province to Spanish firm Tecvasa through its subsidiary Consorcio GSM. The project is part of Inapa’s goal to gradually transfer the management of rural systems to financially and operationally autonomous entities in local communities.
Source: BNamericas.com [subscription site], 17 Nov 2009
Business News Americas – Water & Waste
