Honduras, Tegucigalpa: rationing will continue in 2011

In order to ensure drinking water supply during the summer of 2011, officials of the national water authority SANAA (Servicio Autónomo Nacional de Acueductos y Alcantarillado) to continue rationing.

Ricardo Velasquez, SANAA’s assistant manager, said water would only be supplied every other day.

Neighbourhoods that receive water through local water and sewerage associations will continue to receive water once or twice a week. Areas without house connections and upper parts of the city will be supplied through tankers.

The measures are necessary to ensure water supply not only through 2011 but also in 2012, Velasquez said.

Source: El Heraldo [in Spanish], 02 Nov 2010

Colombia: DNP taking steps to prevent municipal water shortage by 2025

Colombia’s national planning department (DNP) will work with municipal governments to draw up a contingency plan to prevent a severe municipal water shortage by 2025, according to the government’s 2019 development vision.

Read full article one: BNamericas, [subscription site], 26 July 2010

Peru loses 42 percent of potable water due to misuse, leaks

Peru is currently wasting about 42 percent of its potable water as a result of consumer misuse and leaks, communications supervisor David Falcón of the country’s national sanitation authority Sunass told RPP radio station.

“To compare, while Peru loses 42 percent of its potable water, in first world countries like Japan the percentage lost is only 3.5 percent, in Germany it is 5 percent, as well as in other Latin American countries like Mexico only 17 percent is lost,” Falcón said.

The main difference in other countries is better material, technology and infrastructure that is used in their drainage systems, which will hopefully soon be implemented in Peru, Falcón said.

Water supplies in Peru are a major issue, particularly in the country’s arid costal region. In Lima, the world’s second largest desert city after Cairo, Egypt, water resources are scarce and fragile as the city’s growing population is increasing demands on its aquifer and run off from rivers.
Source: Peruviantimes, July 1, 2010

Cuban Local Authorities Strengthen Control of Water Distribution

The drought hitting Cuba for over a year now forced Ciego de Avila’s local authorities to strengthen measures to further control the rational use of drinking water.  A new schedule for the pumping of the liquid to residential and economic areas in the northern and western region of the city was established, announced Sergio Barrios, provincial representative of the Water Resources office.

The measure is part of a program implemented by the Provincial Administration Council seeking to protect the province’s aquifer, which is one of the most important in the country. Fifteen hydrogeological sectors are under a warning due to the effects of the drought that has affected the country since November 2008 and was intensified in 2009.

In addition to the weather conditions, Barrios mentioned the waste of water by consumers and leakages in old pipelines have caused a drop in the amount of collected water.

 The pumping hours in 13 water pumping stations supplying agricultural plantations were also regulated, said the Agriculture delegate Emilio Varela. Varela added that all agricultural enterprises and cooperative units have been demanded to extreme actions to make irrigation more efficient.

The five water reservoirs are filled only to their 32 percent total, one of them is filled only to the seven percent of its full capacity. The lack of rains have caused a drop in the production of plantain,sugar cane and milk, and water tankers have had to be sent to cattle raiding farms in certain communities.

Related news: Cuba: lanzan campaña en favor del ahorro de agua, Boletin de Noticias, 27 May 2010

Source: Cuban Daily news, 21 Jun 2010

Panama: Water shortage killing cattle

Cattle are dying in Cocle Province because of lack of water say farmers.

In the Jagüito neighborhood of the town of El Roble, Aguadulce, the deaths of several cattle on ranches have been reported says La Prensa.

Claudio García, a rancher in the area, says that it has not rained in the area since last November, and water sources are depleted and if the dry season continues the situation will worsen.

He called on the government to have the Ministry of Agricultural Development conduct a survey of the situation.

Source: Newsroom Panama,  18 April 2010.

Miss USA changes view on the world after visiting Third-World poverty

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

In Remote Area of Potosí, People Without Electricity or Water

In the province of North Lípez in a remote corner of the department of Potosí, more than 10,000 people live without electricity, potable water, or communication connections.  The representative of the province, Isidoro Copa, complained that, “it gives the impression that the State only goes up to the Salar de Uyuni, and beyond that it´s no man´s land.”  Representative Copa also said that, “North and South Lípez are abandoned as in the past Atacama, now in the power of Chile, had been.  No one remembers Lípez, no one says that this land is also Bolivia, they only remember Lípez in order to exploit the natural resources…we consider ourselves Bolivians, but we also want to be treated as Bolivians and have access to these services (electricity, water, and cell phone service).”  Copa, a lawyer by profession, said that the only telephone in the region is in the town Avaroa which is connected with an antenna on the Chilean side of the border.

In the high and desolate area of North Lípez, the agricultural activity centered around quinoa and corn production relies entirely on infrequent rains.  According to Rep. Copa the region received two rain storms during the past growing season and farmers expect a meager harvest.  People in the region also live without electric lights and cook over kerosene stoves.  “We have processing plants for our quinoa but we can´t use them for the lack of electric power, we have to transport our quinoa to Challapata (several hours north) or sometimes to Peru where we sell it as a raw product,” lamented Copa.

The harsh conditions and state neglect of the region have pushed many people native to Lípez to emigrate to Chile.  With tears in his eyes Rep. Copa said that, “We live thanks to the fact that we´re close to the border and because we can look for work in Chile, but we have to look for miserable work, there´s discriminatory treatment.”  The majority of Bolivians from this region have crossed into Chile in search of a living, leaving many border settlements looking like ghost towns.  The representative of Nor Lípez, who went to La Paz to present a petition to the Ministry of Public Works complaining about the lack of attention from the Potosí Prefecture, said that, “now there is only hope that the Chileans enter again as they did in 1879,” a reference to the 19th century War of the Pacific between Bolivia and Chile.

Source: In Remote Area of Potosí, People Without Electricity or Water, Bolivia Weekly,  15 Apr 2010.

Related news: Pobladores de Nor Lípez se quejan por la ausencia del Estado, viven sin luz y agua, Red Satelital, 15 Apr 2010.

Dominican Republic: hospitals facing water shortages due to drought

Hospitals in the Dominican Republic are experiencing water shortages due to the severe drought affecting the country. Some hospitals are even having to buy water from private firms which sell water from trucks. Other health institutions have requested assistance from the capital Santo Domingo’s water utility Caasd.

Read full article on: BNamericas.com [subscription site], 08 Apr 2010

Honduras, Tegucigalpa: La Concepción, Los Laureles reservoirs at below 30% of capacity

Water levels in the Los Laureles and La Concepción reservoirs, serving Honduran capital Tegucigalpa, are at less than 30% of capacity. The situation has forced national water authority Sanaa to apply stricter water rationing measures.

Read full articles on: BNamericas.com [subscription site], 31 Mar 2010 ; BNamericas.com, 25 Mar 2010

Trinidad & Tobago: water authority considering clampdown on bottled water firms

Trinidad & Tobago’s water and sewerage authority (WASA) is considering a clampdown on bottled water companies in the light of the drought affecting the country. If the water shortage worsens, WASA will suspend water extraction from wells used by bottled water firms

Read full article on: BNamericas.com [subscription site], 18 Mar 2010