Chaos and the water crisis

The good folks at Voices on the Border have recently published a blog post looking at El Salvador's current potable water crisis and some of its root causes:
The bigger issue for the water crisis is that no one entity is responsible for managing water resources and ensuring they are used in a sustainable manner.  In the absence of water management, chaos reigns. The National Association of Aqueducts and Sewage (ANDA) provides water to 40% of the population. Another 40% of the population depends on no fewer than 2,366 local water boards (that’s 2,366 water boards in just 262 municipalities). The rest rely on private for-profit companies, wells, and other sources. In addition, the Ministry of Agriculture is supposed to regulate irrigation; while the Ministry of the Environment protects recharge zones, rivers and lakes; and the Ministry of Health makes sure water is clean. This patchwork system fails because government agencies do not fulfill their roles and no single entity is responsible. (more).
VOTB goes on to suggest that greater protection should be given to the local water boards engaged in innovative approaches to water management and that the National Assembly should pass the General Water Law which has been stalled in the legislature for many years.



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