Water treatment system in Cuba worries authorities

Water treatment system in Cuba worries authorities
Published July 20, 2012
EFE

The status of Cuba's aging, inadequate water treatment system greatly
concerns the National Hydraulic Resources Institute, or INRH, state
television reported.

INRH President Ines Maria Chapman referred to the matter in a report to
the National Assembly.

"A lot of problems have piled up that need fixing," including the
deterioration from years of exploiting the water system without adequate
maintenance and a culture of "wastefulness" in the use of water, she
told lawmakers.

She also said that every year Cuba loses more than 1 billion cubic
meters (35 billion cubic feet) of water through leaks in the aging mains
and connections inside the home, and compared that volume with the
capacity of Zaza Reservoir, the biggest on the island.

With regard to the water system's infrastructure, Chapman said that the
nation currently has 240 reservoirs and 805 micro-dams, 16 large pumping
stations, 2,416 aqueducts and more than 22,500 kilometers (14,000 miles)
of pipelines.

Water supply covers 94.5 percent of the population of 11.2 million
inhabitants on the island, she said.

She also said that the greatest water-supply problems exist in rural
areas, where only 38.6 percent of the inhabitants are connected to the
system.

Chapman said that 6 percent of Cubans must get their water from cistern
trucks, mainly due to the effects of drought and damage to pumps. EFE

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