EL SALVADOR WRESTLES WITH PERSISTENT WATER WOES.
By Benjamin Witte-Lebhar
When it rains in tropical El Salvador, it often quite literally pours. During the six-month wet season, afternoon "aguaceros" (downpours) are an almost daily occurrence, dumping buckets of rain in short, soaking surges that can add up to as much of 200 cm of precipitation in a given year.
On paper at least, that should be more than enough water to satisfy the needs of the country's 7 million inhabitants. Yet for many Salvadorans, particularly the rural poor, infrastructure shortcomings and widespread pollution combine to make access to clean water dangerously elusive.
A decade ago, El Salvador committed itself to a series of UN-sponsored Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), promising among other things to reduce the percentage of people without sustainable access to drinking water (23.9% in 1991) by half by 2015.
With just five years to go, the country appears to have made progress. By 2006, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) said, El Salvador had already cut to 16% the proportion of people without sustainable access to improved water sources.
Using a broad definition that includes not only direct water lines but also wells, water collectors, and even nearby river access, Salvadoran authorities paint an even brighter picture. Pointing to its annual Encuesta de Hogares de Propositos Multiples (EHPM) survey, the government insists El Salvador has already met its water-related MDG--that approximately 90% of the population now has access to improved water sources.
Serious problems persist
Many observers, however, insist El Salvador's water woes are far from resolved. A closer look at the numbers, even the government's figures, suggest decent water access continues to be unavailable for a significant portion of the population.
The most recent EHPM found that only 70% of Salvadoran households are directly connected (either inside or out) to water pipes. Direct access is particularly lacking in rural areas, where just 44% (compared to 82% in cities) having running water in their homes. Some people are lucky enough to use a neighbor's water pipes (4% in urban areas and 6% in rural zones). But many, particularly in the countryside, rely on "other" sources that are often unsafe and certainly more difficult to access. In rural areas, last year's EHMP suggested, 15% of households get their water from protected wells, 6% from unprotected wells, and 13% from rivers, streams, and other naturally flowing sources.
Even for homes...
Para continuar leyendo
Solicita tu pruebaCOPYRIGHT GALE, Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
