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Published Monday, March 16, 2020
Water service
improved in ZapoteBy the A.M. Costa Rica staff The installation of a new pipeline valve in the sector of the Zapote district, San José Province, allows improvements of drinking water service for that city, said the Public Water Institute, AyA, on Sunday. According to the institute, the improvement increases the distribution of water for both the aforementioned district as well as the Hatillo district. This improvement was scheduled to be developed a few months ago, however, construction at the Zapote highway roundabout delayed the valve installation works, said Roy Gonzáles of the institute. According to authorities, the water service in those districts will continue without needing to suspend services when repairs have to be made in nearby pipes. Also, the institute reported on other repairs made in pipes in the Hatillo area to repair obstruction and replacement with new pipes. These repairs are also made in response to the alert issued by the Ministry of Health due to the increase in cases infected with covid-19, the institute said. Last week, the institute announced projects to improve the water supply in San José Province.  The first improvements were made to increase the supply of drinking water in the southern communities of the capital, according to the institute. The first project is the opening of a new drinking water distribution system, to provide an extra 100 liter per second (l/s) injection of water from the El Llano reservoir in Cartago Province. This amount of water is equivalent to the daily consumption of 24,500 people. Also, the distribution of water will gradually increase to reach 400 liters per second, said the institute. There are more short-term projects planned for development by the institute. The institute plans to develop an identification of new wells and water sources. The institute is listing the owners of private wells or water sources in San José. The goal is to connect these private wells provisionally to the public water distribution system. They also purchased storage tanks to install them in public spaces in the communities of Alajuelita and Zapote, among other places in the south of the capital. The tanks will be used to supply trucks for the distribution of drinking water to homes in those communities. The institute is in the process of identifying schools that have reported a shortage of drinking water to install water tanks. The goal is to maintain a constant supply of drinking water with truck distributors provided by the institute. Trucks offering free distribution of drinking water are providing water to other institutions such as elderly hospices or prisons located in the southern zone of the capital. According to the institute, a new schedule of water service cuts has been developed. This will push for control of valves with new calendars to avoid prolonged suspensions of drinking water in the communities. Also, the institute announced an investment of $54,670,157 to build 23 drinking water distribution wells. It is expected this will solve the water deficit in the capital, said the institute in its statement. Among these projects is the La Valencia aqueduct in San José, which will distribute an additional 80 liters per second of drinking water, to the current consumption of 19,600 people. At the end of this year, the expectation is to finish the construction of two new pipelines in San José, to provide drinking water of an additional 200 liters per second, for the consumption of other communities with approximately 49,000 people. Also, the institute announced work on the interconnection of the Zamora well, in San Antonio de Belén, which will distribute an additional 70 liters per second to 17,000 people in the community. Other improvements announced by the institute is the renovation of pipelines in the aqueducts of the communities of Guadalupe and Puriscal. According to Yamileth Astorga, president of the institute, the water deficit is aggravated due to an increased use of the liquid by the population. Between December and February, each family increased an average of 25% of consumption, about 40 liters more per person. It increased from 16.8 to 21 cubic meters on average per meter in San José in those two months, said Astorga. There are 357,250 people from 14 cantons of the capital that have been affected by the water cut program, according to the institute. -------------------------------- Have you heard about water rationing in your community? We would like to know your thoughts on this story. Send your comments to news@amcostarica.com |
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