Associated Press
Havana (AP) – More than a million Cubans lack drinking water service for drought and breakdowns in pumping equipment, authorities reported on Monday.
“The country’s water supply is going through a critical situation,” said the president of the National Institute for Hydraulic Resources, Antonio Rodríguez, in the Official Journal of Granma.
In the eastern provinces, the lack of rains and the low level of dams that are currently affecting around 860,000 people. The provinces in critical condition are Santiago de Cuba – where the second city in the country, of the same name -, Holguín and Ciego de ávila are.
The dry season extends from November to April and the rains are expected between May and October, coinciding with the time of tropical cyclones. But this year, precipitation was lower than expected.
As for Havana, located to the west, Rodríguez indicated that some 248,000 people did not have the regular supply of vital liquid because failures in the supply of electricity affect the equipment used for water pumping.
Last year, residents of Havana reported several months of serious crisis in the water supply.
Cuba, with 9.7 million inhabitants, is going through a difficult economic crisis that prevents authorities from investing in infrastructure works. In many places, it is usual to see tanker trucks download water in houses and buildings after the neighbors complained of not having received the liquid for several days.
Originally published:
