The prolonged drought affecting the country is even worse in the barrios and areas of Greater Santo Domingo that receive water from the Haina-Manoguayabo, Duey and Isa-Mana water systems, which according to the director of the CAASD are “virtually collapsed and producing ridiculously small amounts of water.”
In a tour of western areas of the capital, Diario Libre reporters were able to see that Los Girasoles, Pantoja, Los Peralejos, and the barrios of Santo Domingo West and Los Alcarrizos were suffering from a lack of water. Residents of Los Girasoles said that it has been weeks since water had arrived in the area, mainly due to the problem of water pressure in the pipes.
“On Friday there was water, but it has been weeks since it arrived,” said Evarista Pena, a resident of Maria Toledo Street in Los Girasoles. The problem goes beyond the sector and according to the residents only households with wells are able to get water. “Sometimes they send a tiny bit of water. But you have to be attentive to see if it reaches the spigot. But it is almost nothing,” said Gilda Hidalgo, a resident on Maria Trinidad Sanchez Street in Los Girasoles. In the neighborhood of La Esperanza in Santo Domingo West, residents say that the authorities have taken away their day of water distribution, but when it comes, they get enough for their needs.
The CAASD director, Alejandro Montas, admitted yesterday, Monday 25 March that the situation that people in the area were experiencing was serious and met with a commission from the local neighborhood association. “We agreed that we are going to start sending water trucks in order to satisfy the demand in the area,” he said. The CAASD revealed that until yesterday the Valdesia and Barrera de Salinidad supply systems had become the city’s main supply systems. “The water production for Greater Santo Domingo is 350 million gallons, of which Valdesia is producing approximately 154 million gallons of water (7m3 per second) and 77 million gallons of water from the Barrera de Salinidad (3.5 m3),” reported the deputy director of operations of the CAASD, Luis Salcedo. In the meantime, Isa-Mana, Duey and Haina-Manoguayabo combined are producing less than 50% of their usual output.