Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06SANTODOMINGO3807
2006-12-28 19:54:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Santo Domingo
Cable title:  

WATER AND SANITATION ISSUES IN THE DOMINICAN

Tags:  SENV OES 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXYZ0008
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHDG #3807/01 3621954
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 281954Z DEC 06 ZDK
FM AMEMBASSY SANTO DOMINGO
TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7024
UNCLAS SANTO DOMINGO 003807 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

PASS TO OES/PCI: SLAZBERG AND BLAINE; USAID: MILLER AND
DEELY

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: SENV OES
SUBJECT: WATER AND SANITATION ISSUES IN THE DOMINICAN
REPUBLIC

REF: 06 STATE 128229

UNCLAS SANTO DOMINGO 003807

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

PASS TO OES/PCI: SLAZBERG AND BLAINE; USAID: MILLER AND
DEELY

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: SENV OES
SUBJECT: WATER AND SANITATION ISSUES IN THE DOMINICAN
REPUBLIC

REF: 06 STATE 128229


1. (U) Summary. Per reftel, Embassy conducted a review of
host country needs and identified opportunities to strengthen
U.S. engagement on water and sanitation programs in the
Dominican Republic. Access to potable water, especially in
rural areas, better sewage infrastructure and treatment
facilities, and protecting the sources of fresh water
supplies from contamination, chemical pollution, and
salinization are the key areas that need to be addressed in
the Dominican Republic. End Summary.

--------------
Access to potable water
--------------


2. (SBU) According to the Dominican government's 2006 report
on water statistics, 91 percent of the urban population and
only 64 percent of the rural population have access to
potable water. According to Areli Sebaya, spokesperson for
the Dominican National Institute for Potable Water (INAPA),
most of the country's northern sector lacks a permanent water
supply, and those that have one suffer from outdated
technology.


3. (U) For the past eight months, more than 60 communities
from the provinces of Monte Cristi, Valverde, Santiago and
Santiago Rodriguez have suffered from a water shortage. In
early November, several communities in Monte Cristi blocked
the roadway that connects the province to Santiago with tree
trunks and burning tires in demand of potable tap water.
According to press reports, violent confrontations took place
among community participants and members of the Dominican
police and military.


4. (U) The Dominican government is working to improve the
potable water availability in the country. In November 2006,
President Fernandez inaugurated two water treatment
facilities, constructed by Biwater, in San Cristobal (near
Santo Domingo) and in San Francisco de Macoris (a
northeastern province). According to Biwater, the San
Cristobal water treatment plant supplies water to
approximately 600,000 people and meets World Health
Organization (WHO) standards using conventional treatment
processes together with chemical and chlorine additives. The
project included the design and construction of a one
cubic-meter-per-second (cumec) water treatment plant, three
booster pumping stations with standby power facilities, three
new regional storage reservoirs, 37 kilometers of
transmission pipeline, and the training of plant personnel

for twelve months. The Mata Larga Water Treatment Plant at
San Francisco de Macoris in the northeast of the country
includes a one cumec water treatment plant, three pumping
stations, two storage reservoirs, 30 kilometers of raw water
pipeline, and 40 kilometers of treated water distribution
pipeline. The new plant provides potable water to more than
300,000 people and meets World Health Organization (WHO)
standards using conventional treatment processes together
with chemical and chlorine doses.


5. (U) INAPA's Sebaya also claims that the Dominican
Republic is seeking international finance to construct a
network of 74 aqueducts by the end of 2008. According to
Sebaya, this network should provide drinking water to nearly
all Dominicans in the country.


6. (SBU) Unfortunately, the majority of water pipes in the
urban areas are old and corroded resulting in unhealthy tap
water. Most tourism books inform their readers to drink only
bottled water and to not drink the tap water regardless of
where there are located. The Embassy's medical officer
conducted a water survey of embassy residences located at
twelve separate districts in Santo Domingo and found that the
water was not suitable for consumption.


7. (U) The Dominican medical community provides clear
evidence that the lack of access to clean potable water
contributes to high infant mortality rates. The Dominican
Republic suffers an infant mortality rate of 31 per 1000
(Demographic and Health survey 2002). The third leading
cause for infant deaths in the country is diarrhea, which is
normally caused by drinking contaminated water. According to
health officials, diarrhea is the leading cause for infant
deaths in Dominican rural areas.

--------------
Sewage system and treatment facilities
--------------


8. (U) The sewage system in the Dominican Republic covers 70


percent of the urban areas and only 30 percent of the rural
areas, according to government statistics. Sewage treatment,
on the other hand, is nearly non-existent in the rural areas
and extremely low in urban areas. According to local
non-governmental organizations (NGOs),sewage and bio-medical
waste are dumped into the rivers and oceans, which have had a
devastating affect on the human health, coral reefs and its
ecosystem, as well as the local environment.

--------------
Aquifers
--------------


9. (SBU) According to the USAID-contracted International

Resources Group (IRG),the Dominican Republic is facing a
water crisis, especially in the eastern half of the island
with the dynamic expansion of tourist resorts and golf
courses. From Santo Domingo to the eastern shores of Punta
Cana, urban and hotel development is potentially outpacing
the water supply. A new aqueduct is being built that will
stretch over 50 miles to pump water into new hotel
developments and the local communities in this region.
Unfortunately, many critical fresh water aquifers in this
region have already been damaged by the increased water usage
for urban areas, hotel occupants, golf courses, and mass
irrigation of sugarcane and other crops. IRG, who works
closely with the Ministry of Environment, asserts that if the
government does not remedy this situation in the near future,
the damage to these aquifers could be irreversible and would
force the Dominican Republic to build desalinization plants
to provide the growing demand for fresh water.


10. (SBU) IRG and other environmental groups agree that the
government needs to pressure the resort industry to lower its
water usage per occupant; however, putting pressure on an
industry that is providing around 12 percent of the country's
GDP is very difficult. In addition, more efficient
irrigation systems for the agricultural sector will have to
be developed and used because the sector currently uses 81.5
percent of the total water annually consumed and contributes
only 5.1 percent to the country's GDP.

--------------
Opportunities for U.S. engagement
--------------


11. (U) The United States is already addressing some of the
Dominican Republic's water concerns through USAID programs
and the Peace Corps, although funds for this purpose are very
limited. Part of the funds that IRG receives from USAID
provides technical assistance to the Secretariat of the
Environment and Natural Resources to improve water use
policies and water quality. In addition, USAID has integrated
water, sanitation, and hygiene elements into their
community-based health programs. Under the Healthy
Environment program, the Peace Corps provides assistance in
the development of small-scale gravity-fed aqueducts to rural
communities. In the last 15 years, over 125 aqueducts have
been built at roughly USD 10 thousand per aqueduct. Funding
for these aqueducts comes from USAID small project funds, the
Canadian government, NGOs, and faith based organizations.


12. (U) MILGROUP, though its U.S. Southern Command (US
SOUTHCOM) has in the past been involved with the construction
of wells. In 2006, SOUTHCOM's New Horizons, exercise
focused primarily on constructing medical clinics.


13. (U) Foreign donors who are directly engaged in water and
sanitation programs in the Dominican Republic include IDB,
Japan, Germany, and Brazil. A variety of NGOs are also
involved in water and sanitation programs, especially in
rural and marginal rural areas where the Dominican government
lacks the necessary resources. Private sector firms, such as
Procter and Gamble (P&G),are contributing funds and
resources to the Dominican water problem. P&G's Director of
Children's Safe Drinking Water Program has linked up with
Population Services International (PSI) to provide safe
drinking water in the Dominican Republic. Their product, PUR
(purifier of water),was developed in collaboration with the
Center for Disease Control. PUR changes heavily contaminated
brown water into clear drinking water. PUR destroys
pathogens, parasites, heavy metals, and other impurities. It
has reduced the number of diarrhea deaths in other countries
tremendously. PUR cannot remove fluoride, nitrates, or
sodium chloride (i.e., cannot be used for desalinization).
P&G is working with PSI to distribute PUR in the Dominican
Republic.


14. (SBU) Opportunities to provide access to potable water
are best located at the local level. Communities, which have

received assistance, have created water committees that are
in involved in the daily water distribution activities as
well as collecting fees for the aqueduct's operations and
providing future plans to maintain access to potable water.
These committees are the focal points for U.S. assistance.
For larger areas as well as urban areas, the main government
institution is INAPA. The principal concern with providing
assistance to INAPA is its inefficient management and lack of
targeted results. Thus, U.S. engagement should focus its
efforts on supporting municipalities and community-based
organizations that are highly committed to achieving concrete
results and managing their funds in a cost-effective manner.
HERTELL