Plans for a 100-meter tall dam, reservoir, water treatment plant and distribution pipelines are on the table once more. The US$150-million Madrigal project that would supply water to the National District and the Province of Santo Domingo is sited for the Haina River area near Villa Altagracia.
Canada’s export contracting agency, the Canadian Commercial Corporation (CCC), and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) have committed to participating in the project. CIDA will donate US$2 million for the environmental impact study that must first be conducted. CIDA would also finance the construction of the dam, according to Julio Suero Marranzini, director of the Corporaci?n de Acueducto y Alcantarillado de Santo Domingo, the city?s potable water department.
The plans, in existence since the early 1980s, have been the subject of controversy in the past and have been rejected previously on grounds of the potential for environmental damage.
The project still needs to pass in Congress.