The value of water

Rates to be applied according to spending.

The news was not posted on the web, no one commented about it on Facebook nor spread it through their Twitter account. Not even text messages or emails were sent. It was simply on everyone’s lips, as demonstrated by the efficiency of common knowledge. In fact, that same day almost everyone in my barrio knew that Juanita, Pedro’s daughter, had stood in front of the office where the water bill is paid carrying a sign (impossible to reproduce here), which in essence expressed (undoubtedly) her deep dissatisfaction over the lack of water supply during a whole week. No one has to say how Juanita’s performance ended: the law and order officers came and tried to convince the irrational woman to return home or they would have to arrest her for public scandal. But Juanita stood her ground even though they explained to her the problems with the water network and the repairs being carried out…. The woman didn’t budge. She only wanted to have the water turned on and she wanted it now. To not make the story long, I’ll tell you that this time there was a happy ending, when a neighbour came running to say that the water had already been turned on. Then Juanita returned home, opened the kitchen sink faucet from where a powerful jet of water came out….

As it happens the event coincided with the recent announcement of the application of a new rate to be charged for the water service starting this year. According to the authorities of the National Institute of Hydraulic Resources, the measure should encourage the rational use of water and will help to create an awareness of saving, in addition to contributing to the protection of the environment.

Until now the Cuban State has subsidised the supply of water, for homes as well as for state entities, but the new regulation deactivates the former regimen of a set price for the running water service and all consumers will start paying differentiated rates according to consumption, while inefficiencies will be penalised.

It would then be logical that a legal contract be established between the company and the client of strict compliance by both sides, through which not only the payment for services provided is obligatory but also the right to receive good service, including the guarantee of water quality for human consumption, something that despite the existence of an adequate infrastructure of labs and monitoring points for its control, cannot be certified 100 percent due to the risks of contamination during its long journey through the networks.

The announced regulation also responds to the policy of the government of Raúl Castro geared at decreasing subsidies, according to the updating of the economic model and the consequent implementation of the Economic and Social Policy Guidelines of the Party and the Revolution. This favoured the drawing up of the Diagnosis and National Policy on Water, approved in December 2012 by the Council of Ministers, which in addition to proposing a rational and productive use of the available existence of water, also establishes as priorities working for its quality, the efficient exploitation of the current infrastructure and the prevention of the risks associated to climate events that affect our geographical area.

Another interesting aspect of the subject is the announcement of the reinvestment of finances collected in the water sector, something that should contribute to resolving the diverse problems that have affected the water supply for many years in many places on the island and that have caused so much anguish and difficulties to a part of the population.

There is no doubt that the rational and adequate use of the valuable resource is an unquestionable need not just in Cuba but in any part of the world, and it was inevitable to establish an orderly policy to guarantee its correct administration. Even so, there’s still a long stretch ahead.

In an ideal scenario, the new rates aim to guarantee that every person or entity use what is strictly necessary to cover their needs that, according to international parameters and the recommendations by UNESCO, should not exceed the daily consumption of 100 litres of water per capita. Unfortunately, sometimes there is a lack of that awareness, water is carelessly wasted and only when we don’t have it or it is difficult to access are we capable of understanding its real value. But that’s not all.

During the 7th Workshop on Use and Care of Water held last month in the Economic Society of Friends of the Country and backed by the Hydraulic Engineering Society of the National Union of Architects and Construction Engineers, it was announced that just in Havana 525 million cubic metres of water were pumped annually, but out of them 306 million are lost for diverse reasons. According to the specialists, this situation generates annual losses of 86 million CUC and 205 million pesos. Meanwhile, 1,094 tons of chemical products used in the treatment of water were wasted (equivalent to 1,870,000 pesos), in addition to the power consumption of 109 gigawatts per hour, at a cost of more than 21 million pesos….

Supposedly as a result of the new demands that the sector has presented, greater responsibility will be demanded from those in charge of administrating the service, and the multiple reasons that cause the loss of more than 40 percent of the water pumped in the country will be eliminated, and which according to official data is located in the pipelines (responsible for 16 percent), the networks (with 20 percent) and the home and company and agency networks, where up to 22 percent is wasted.

Perhaps starting now, with the announced decision of penalising the inefficiencies, one can kill once and for all the invincible hydra of the leaks, put an end to the inadequate use of resources, to the badly finished works, to the deficient and sloppy installations that speed up and multiply the breakages, raise the costs and need reiterated investments, even in the new works.

Let’s hope, in short, that that National Water Policy recently approved, and which has started by announcing the hike in the prices for users, has among its final results (even if it is in a very long term), the real solution to the entire gamut of pending complex problems and is not an urgent and short-term patching up.

For the time being, its most immediate effect will be able to be seen in the possible impact the new rates will have on the family budget and that, no matter how slight they can be, will be one more burden for the tight wages of a great deal of the population, especially for pensioners and the workers linked to the state sector who still make up a great majority of the workers. And this will be more painful while there is just one leak in the country that allows for the loss of the vital liquid. (2013)

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