Panama's Water Challenge (Crisis?) - For People and Ships

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OPINION::Panama's water challenge

Lake levels are falling

Posted 13/05/2019

Water is fundamental for the development of the country. This is reflected in the operation of the Canal, hydroelectric plants, supply for human consumption and agricultural irrigation. No economic initiative can prosper if its availability is not guaranteed. As if that were not enough, human health is in danger when it is scarce or contaminated. The formulation of a national water policy is an urgent task for the new government. It is ridiculous to pretend that the water of the Panamanian rivers can be conserved and used in a sustainable way, without the accompaniment of the strict conservation of the forests and protected areas of the country. The outdated mentality that development involves cutting down trees to cover soils with cement has exacerbated the Panamanian dilemma: excessive abundance of water during one part of the year and extreme scarcity in the other -LA PRENSA, May 13

 

https://www.newsroompanama.com/opinion/opinionpanama039s-water-challenge-1

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Panama water crisis - ships and people,

More transits need more water

Posted 13/05/2019

In spite of the torrential rainy season, the struggle for water to meet the demands of the increasing transits of the Panama Canal and the needs of country’s expanding population is one of the immediate major challenges facing the incoming government of  Laurentino Nito Cortizo.

"After the year 2024 or 2025, if we do not have other sources of water, let's forget about the growth of the Canal or supplying water to the communities that are growing", warned Jorge Luis Quijano, administrator of the waterway.

For years, the Canal has been studying the needs of water in the face of climate change and the excessive increase of human consumption, reports La Prensa.

  Quijano warns,  that "here there must be a decision to move forward with a reservoir project. The incoming government must make the decision by the end of the year. "

Before the end of 2019, the Panama Canal Authority (ACP ) will have in its possession the complete diagnosis with which the incoming government will be able to determine if it is feasible to make a reservoir on the Indio River, in Coclé; or use Lake Bayano to transport water through pipelines to the Pacora area, to and thus prevent the high population growth of the eastern sector of the capital from continuing to stress the Canal lakes.

 

https://www.newsroompanama.com/business/panama-water-crisis-ships-and-people

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Water crisis needs radical changes in Idaan

LAKE Gatun provides water for human consumption and for the Canal locks.

Posted 14/07/2019

Panama’s Chamber of Commerce (Cciap) has joined the  Canal Authority (ACP) in voicing concerns about the future of the country’s water supply and has called for a radical transformation of the Institute of Aqueducts and Sewerage Systems (Idaan ).

In a  Sunday, July 14  statement:  "Water As a National Concern," the Chamber says  a clear symptom  is the cyclical need for the Canal  to adjust the navigation depth to its water capacity, "adjustment  … as a consequence of climate change and which is confirmed in the last six months- as the lowest volume of rainfall in the Canal basin ", according to rainfall  records in the last 100 years

The Cciap says that for decades the need to ensure water reservoirs has been recognized, both "for the operational sustainability of our main asset and to provide it in a safe way to all Panamanians", an indispensable condition to ensure quality of life, in terms of delivery and geographical coverage.

"It is to be hoped that we have matured enough to understand that we cannot delay more to see materialized viable solutions and practices that, in addition, fully guarantee the rights of the communities to be involved," the organization adds.

It emphasizes that the irresponsible waste of the liquid and the "high delinquency" on the part of users, together with the administrative inefficiency of the Idaan, demand a managerial execution differentiated by the quality in the rendering of the services and the profitability of the entity.

"You cannot continue experimenting with an entity completely out of step with the dynamics of the country and the one imposed by the demands of our development," said the Chamber.

 

https://www.newsroompanama.com/environment/water-crisis-needs-radical-changes-in-idaan-1