"Now, thank God, we have pure water," says one of the 12,000 Costa Ricans benefiting from the new aqueduct in Bagaces financed by CABEI

29/03/2023

• The North Pacific Community Aqueduct Expansion and Improvement Project is part of a broad program supported financially by the multilateral for US$154.5 million.

San José, March 30th, 2023 - Malka Quirós Ruiz is a Costa Rican head of household who lives in Bagaces, a canton in Costa Rica's North Pacific region historically affected by high arsenic residues in the water. Her life, like that of 12,000 other inhabitants of the area, changed when the project to expand and improve the aqueduct that now provides them with clean water service came into operation.

"Every day we had to go out early in the morning to collect the water that they (the Costa Rican Institute of Aqueducts and Sewers) distributed with a tanker truck and always save it for the next day, it was very complicated. Before we were worried about having arsenic in the water and now, thank God, we have pure water to drink," Mrs. Quirós said.

This project, financed by the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) as part of the "Water Supply Program for the San José Metropolitan Area, Urban Aqueducts and Juanito Mora Sanitary Sewerage in Puntarenas", with a total investment of US$154.5 million and which includes more than 15 projects throughout the country, will also supply the communities of Falconiana, Bagatzí, Montenegro and Agua Caliente, and is expected to serve 17,000 people in 20 years.

"Access to clean water is a human right, which is why we are pleased to hear the testimonies of people who for many years have waited to receive the liquid directly in their homes. In Costa Rica, CABEI maintains an active portfolio of six water, sanitation, irrigation and sewerage initiatives with important investments throughout the country, which are part of our strategic axis of human development by improving people's quality of life," said CABEI's Executive President, Dr. Dante Mossi.

Among the new works that came into operation are the construction of two water catchment sources, the installation of a conduction and distribution pipeline, as well as a new storage and purification tank with the capacity to distribute up to 90 liters of water per second, three times more than what the town currently consumes.

In addition to this important program under which this project was executed, CABEI is also executing six other initiatives in conjunction with the Costa Rican Water and Sewerage Institute (AyA) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG) to supply water to various communities in the country, as well as ensure sanitation and sewerage services.

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