WASH News Latin America
News feed maintained by information specialists from IRC and partners.
Chile, Santiago: water theft in metropolitan region totals 8Mm3/year
13 Apr 10
Annual water theft in Chile’s metropolitan region equals the consumption of 33,000 families, local paper El Mercurio reported.Over 8Mm3 of water are stolen in the region every year by people tampering with water meters.An estimated 6,000 meters are being tampered with in capital Santiago every year, according to water utility Aguas Andinas manager Cristián Esquivel.The [...]
El Salvador: Anda announces new water rates
13 Apr 10
El Salvador’s national aqueduct and sewerage authority Anda has announced new rates for potable water services, the presidential website reported.The new tariff structure will be applied gradually and additional subsidies will be granted to people with the lowest incomes. The subsidies range from 2.6% to 35% and the new rates will be applied retrospectively from [...]
Latin America: countries make “significant progress” towards Millennium Goal – Eclac
13 Apr 10
A review of the official indicators of the 7th Millennium Development Goal for Latin America and the Caribbean points to progress since 1990, but also to setbacks, according to a report compiled by the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (Eclac).Ten years after the Millennium Declaration, the report analyzes the trends and [...]
Guatemala: 5 wastewater treatment plants to build in Chimaltenango
09 Apr 10
Guatemala’s Chimaltenango department will invest 10% of its 2010 budget to build five wastewater treatment plants, the presidential website reported.Construction of the plants will cost some 5mn quetzals (US$615,097) and the initiative will benefit 13,000 people.Authorities are currently buying the land were the plants will be installed tentatively in the neighborhoods of Texabín, Santa Isabel, [...]
Seinco eyes Latin American expansion
09 Apr 10
“We’re beginning operations in Peru, and we have also been invited to meet with the government of Ecuador, so that will likely be a new destination beforethe end of the year. The idea is for us to have an official presence in all of Latin America by 2014,” told the president of the Water and [...]
Belize: Water restrictions cause major problems over Easter weekend
09 Apr 10
A press release issued on March 31st, 2010 by Belize Water Services Limited (BWS) spoke of the possibility of rationing the water supply onSan Pedro, Ambergris Caye: BWS hereby informs residents and visitors to San Pedro that, should the available supply continue to diminish, the companywill have no choice but to restrict water over the [...]
Trinidad and Tobago: Petrotrin uses Caroni River for water supply
09 Apr 10
The Petroleum Company of TT (Petrotrin) uses over 4.5 million gallons of water per day for the cooling of machinery necessary for oil production, but it’s coping with the nation’s water shortage.Petrotrin president Kenneth Allum said the State company was pulling water from all sources to meet with its day to day operations.“We are managing [...]
Create a safer water supply in Bolivia
12 Mar 10
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 [...]
Improve water and sanitation for the people of Honduras
12 Mar 10
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 andquality are not adequate, and suggested that the existing infrastructure poses a serious health risk to citizens. [...]
Bringing WASH in Schools to Haiti
12 Mar 10
H2O for Life together with Save the Children, will fund a WASH in Schools project for Nationale Louis Lamartiniere de Hatty primary school in the Maissade area of Haiti. This area is welcoming refugees after the recent earthquake, and now more than ever a sustainable source of water, sanitation and hygiene education is needed.Students currently [...]
