Water Supply in the Azuero Region Affected by the Presence of Microorganisms

Since last Monday, the drinking water supply has been severely affected in the provinces of Los Santos and Herrera due to the flooding of the La Villa River, which forced the shutdown of the Rufina Alfaro water treatment plants in Los Santos and production at the Roberto Reyna plant in Chitré.  Both plants are located on the banks of the same river, so they have suffered the direct effects of the increase in the levels and quality of the raw water collected for treatment.  The regional director of Idaan in Los Santos, Yulissa De Gracia, explained that the complete suspension of both plants is due to a critical situation detected after the river’s rapid rise. 

In the case of the Rufina Alfaro plant, “we had to perform immediate maintenance on the water intake, and quality analysis revealed a large number of live microorganisms unusual in the river intake.”   De Gracia explained that new water samples will be taken and the results will be awaited before resuming plant operations. Therefore, the resumption of service will depend on quality tests confirming that these microorganisms are no longer present in the collected water.  The National Institute of Aqueducts and Sewers (IDAAN) reported that it is constantly monitoring the flow and distributing drinking water by tanker truck to hospitals and health centers, as well as to the most affected population, for which it has requested support from other institutions to strengthen distribution. 

The Roberto Reyna plant in Chitré has also been affected by high turbidity in the raw water, a result of the season’s heavy rains.  Maritza Gómez, owner of a coffee shop in La Villa, expressed her concern, as they have been without water since Monday afternoon, which is affecting them financially.  “We are running out of water for cooking, washing, and serving customers. Plus, we have to buy bottled water for cooking, and that increases the costs,” the user said.