Foot-dragging in the midst of Canal water crisis

In September 2023, the board of directors of the Panama Canal sent a proposal to the Cabinet Council as part of its plan to confront the crisis due to low water levels for the passage of ships and human consumption.

The document did not suggest the approval of a specific project, but reported on the need to make legal reforms to expand the limits of the hydrographic basin and eliminate the restriction on building reservoirs, according to Law 28 of 2006.

It took the government three months to send a response which basically indicated the need to carry out a citizen consultation so that the Panama Canal Authority determines whether the residents of the Indio River area , where the reservoir would be built, agree with the project.

The Canal board was asked to clarify whether they have held public consultations among citizens residing in the proposed area, to find out their opinions on the legal limits of the hydrographic basin of the Canal and the possibility of building reservoirs.

The consultation has not officially been carried out, although it was in the Canal plans.

Due to the order in which things have occurred, it seems that the Canal was waiting for the Government first to propose the legal reforms unless they were wasting time in the middle of a crisis due to water scarcity.

After receiving the reply the director of the Panama Canal Authority Aristides Royo, said that they will comply with that first step when the Government makes a statement and proposes legal reforms that lift the restriction on building reservoirs.

Royo specified that the consultation would be carried out and hoped that this will occur before the end of Cortizo ‘s administration (June 30, 2024).

Royo assured yesterday, Tuesday, January 9, that a reservoir will not be built on the Indio River, “if the inhabitants of that area oppose” the idea of ​​building a reservoir that guarantees the storage of water.

According to information from the ACP, a reservoir like the one that could be built in the areas near the Indio River would affect approximately 2,000 people.