2.5 million people finally gained access to drinking water service in Colombia

During the forum on water and public sanitation organized by the newspaper La República, the regionalization policy was discussed to strengthen schemes, in order to generate the provision of drinking water service and reach populations where there is a deficit in the provision of precious liquid and sanitation.

What the new regulations seek is that the aqueducts of small municipalities, which are highly susceptible to damage, besides being inefficient, are replaced by companies that can guarantee better service delivery.

This work has allowed two and a half million Colombians to have access to water for the first time, Minister Malagón points out: “Every 40 seconds a Colombian has access to drinking water for the first time. We also achieved differential schemes, which are necessary to reach neighborhoods in dispersed rural areas, as well as regulation and incentives for companies to invest in these sectors.”

Access to drinking water is a problem both in remote towns and in capital cities of Colombia, for example, in Santa Marta there have been protests over the lack of precious liquid, with marches and blockages of roads, at different times of the day and night. The inhabitants are tired, they say, because they promise that they will send tank trucks, but they never arrive.

The mayor of Santa Marta, Virna Johnson, summoned the Auditor of the Essmar, Yahaira Díaz, to inform her of the contingency plan caused by the dry season, due to the chaos generated by the lack of drinking water. According to the president, the agency pledged to normalize water distribution in the capital of Magdalena in two days.

The forum was also attended by the president of the National Association of Public Utilities and Communications Companies of Colombia (Andesco), Camilo Sánchez, who said: “Public, private and mixed management is the alternative to offer a solution to users in the country. We have a company like EPM that offers added value with infrastructure works.”

This project aims to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, for this case number 6, which seeks to ensure the availability of water and its sustainable management and sanitation for all people. In this area, Colombia has 8 years left to achieve the 17 SDGs proposed at the Rio summit held in 2012. The country reports an improvement of almost 55%, a figure provided by the National Planning Department (DNP), with the achievement of these objectives.

The housing minister also assured that, in 2021, there were 5 million Colombians who did not have access to drinking water, in addition, the national government seeks to reduce that figure to 3 million before the end of their term.

A few days ago, the deputy minister of water, José Acero, said that the biggest problem is reaching infrastructure and basic sanitation solutions to the most difficult access areas of the country. In addition, that the service is provided on a permanent basis. For this, programs such as Guajira Azul, Agua al Campo and Agua al Barrio are being developed, which respond to the specific needs of the populations.

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