The drought so typical of the Lenten season is causing major issues in communities of Moca, La Vega and Santiago where there are sectors and barrios that spend several days without drinking water. In places like Estancia Nueva, La Ermita, Monte de la Jagua, and El Paso, in Moca, residents say that no piped water has been available for over a month. The Moca Water and Sewer Corporation (Coraamoca) blames the situation on the electricity problems, saying that when the water pipes are filling up with water, the electricity goes out and stops the pumps. According to El Caribe, Coraamoca has purchased a diesel generator but it has yet to be installed.
In other places, such as the community of Punal in Santiago, housewives complained that “we get one day of water and two days without any.” In other areas such as Pontezuela, the residents said that they have been asking the local water authority, Coraasan, to install a sewage system for some 40 years. The government is working on the installation of a new aqueduct system in the region.