VZCZCXYZ0008
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHDG #3807/01 3621954
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 281954Z DEC 06 ZDK
FM AMEMBASSY SANTO DOMINGO
TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7024

UNCLAS SANTO DOMINGO 003807 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
PASS TO OES/PCI: SLAZBERG AND BLAINE; USAID: MILLER AND 
DEELY 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SENV OES
SUBJECT: WATER AND SANITATION ISSUES IN THE DOMINICAN 
REPUBLIC 
 
REF: 06 STATE 128229 
 
¶1.  (U) Summary.  Per reftel, Embassy conducted a review of 
host country needs and identified opportunities to strengthen 
U.S. engagement on water and sanitation programs in the 
Dominican Republic.  Access to potable water, especially in 
rural areas, better sewage infrastructure and treatment 
facilities, and protecting the sources of fresh water 
supplies from contamination, chemical pollution, and 
salinization are the key areas that need to be addressed in 
the Dominican Republic.  End Summary. 
 
----------------------- 
Access to potable water 
----------------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) According to the Dominican government's 2006 report 
on water statistics, 91 percent of the urban population and 
only 64 percent of the rural population have access to 
potable water.  According to Areli Sebaya, spokesperson for 
the Dominican National Institute for Potable Water (INAPA), 
most of the country's northern sector lacks a permanent water 
supply, and those that have one suffer from outdated 
technology. 
 
¶3.  (U) For the past eight months, more than 60 communities 
from the provinces of Monte Cristi, Valverde, Santiago and 
Santiago Rodriguez have suffered from a water shortage.  In 
early November, several communities in Monte Cristi blocked 
the roadway that connects the province to Santiago with tree 
trunks and burning tires in demand of potable tap water. 
According to press reports, violent confrontations took place 
among community participants and members of the Dominican 
police and military. 
 
¶4.  (U) The Dominican government is working to improve the 
potable water availability in the country.  In November 2006, 
President Fernandez inaugurated two water treatment 
facilities, constructed by Biwater, in San Cristobal (near 
Santo Domingo) and in San Francisco de Macoris (a 
northeastern province).  According to Biwater, the San 
Cristobal water treatment plant supplies water to 
approximately 600,000 people and meets World Health 
Organization (WHO) standards using conventional treatment 
processes together with chemical and chlorine additives.  The 
project included the design and construction of a one 
cubic-meter-per-second (cumec) water treatment plant, three 
booster pumping stations with standby power facilities, three 
new regional storage reservoirs, 37 kilometers of 
transmission pipeline, and the training of plant personnel 
for twelve months.  The Mata Larga Water Treatment Plant at 
San Francisco de Macoris in the northeast of the country 
includes a one cumec water treatment plant, three pumping 
stations, two storage reservoirs, 30 kilometers of raw water 
pipeline, and 40 kilometers of treated water distribution 
pipeline.  The new plant provides potable water to more than 
300,000 people and meets World Health Organization (WHO) 
standards using conventional treatment processes together 
with chemical and chlorine doses. 
 
¶5.  (U) INAPA's Sebaya also claims that the Dominican 
Republic is seeking international finance to construct a 
network of 74 aqueducts by the end of 2008.  According to 
Sebaya, this network should provide drinking water to nearly 
all Dominicans in the country. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Unfortunately, the majority of water pipes in the 
urban areas are old and corroded resulting in unhealthy tap 
water.  Most tourism books inform their readers to drink only 
bottled water and to not drink the tap water regardless of 
where there are located.  The Embassy's medical officer 
conducted a water survey of embassy residences located at 
twelve separate districts in Santo Domingo and found that the 
water was not suitable for consumption. 
 
¶7.  (U) The Dominican medical community provides clear 
evidence that the lack of access to clean potable water 
contributes to high infant mortality rates.  The Dominican 
Republic suffers an infant mortality rate of 31 per 1000 
(Demographic and Health survey 2002).  The third leading 
cause for infant deaths in the country is diarrhea, which is 
normally caused by drinking contaminated water.  According to 
health officials, diarrhea is the leading cause for infant 
deaths in Dominican rural areas. 
 
-------------------------------------- 
Sewage system and treatment facilities 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶8.  (U) The sewage system in the Dominican Republic covers 70 
 
 
percent of the urban areas and only 30 percent of the rural 
areas, according to government statistics.  Sewage treatment, 
on the other hand, is nearly non-existent in the rural areas 
and extremely low in urban areas.  According to local 
non-governmental organizations (NGOs), sewage and bio-medical 
waste are dumped into the rivers and oceans, which have had a 
devastating affect on the human health, coral reefs and its 
ecosystem, as well as the local environment. 
 
-------- 
Aquifers 
-------- 
 
¶9.  (SBU) According to the USAID-contracted International 
 
Resources Group (IRG), the Dominican Republic is facing a 
water crisis, especially in the eastern half of the island 
with the dynamic expansion of tourist resorts and golf 
courses.  From Santo Domingo to the eastern shores of Punta 
Cana, urban and hotel development is potentially outpacing 
the water supply.  A new aqueduct is being built that will 
stretch over 50 miles to pump water into new hotel 
developments and the local communities in this region. 
Unfortunately, many critical fresh water aquifers in this 
region have already been damaged by the increased water usage 
for urban areas, hotel occupants, golf courses, and mass 
irrigation of sugarcane and other crops.  IRG, who works 
closely with the Ministry of Environment, asserts that if the 
government does not remedy this situation in the near future, 
the damage to these aquifers could be irreversible and would 
force the Dominican Republic to build desalinization plants 
to provide the growing demand for fresh water. 
 
¶10.  (SBU) IRG and other environmental groups agree that the 
government needs to pressure the resort industry to lower its 
water usage per occupant; however, putting pressure on an 
industry that is providing around 12 percent of the country's 
GDP is very difficult.  In addition, more efficient 
irrigation systems for the agricultural sector will have to 
be developed and used because the sector currently uses 81.5 
percent of the total water annually consumed and contributes 
only 5.1 percent to the country's GDP. 
 
--------------------------------- 
Opportunities for U.S. engagement 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶11.  (U) The United States is already addressing some of the 
Dominican Republic's water concerns through USAID programs 
and the Peace Corps, although funds for this purpose are very 
limited.  Part of the funds that IRG receives from USAID 
provides technical assistance to the Secretariat of the 
Environment and Natural Resources to improve water use 
policies and water quality. In addition, USAID has integrated 
water, sanitation, and hygiene elements into their 
community-based health programs. Under the Healthy 
Environment program, the Peace Corps provides assistance in 
the development of small-scale gravity-fed aqueducts to rural 
communities.  In the last 15 years, over 125 aqueducts have 
been built at roughly USD 10 thousand per aqueduct.  Funding 
for these aqueducts comes from USAID small project funds, the 
Canadian government, NGOs, and faith based organizations. 
 
¶12.  (U) MILGROUP, though its U.S. Southern Command (US 
SOUTHCOM) has in the past been involved with the construction 
of wells.  In 2006, SOUTHCOM's New Horizons, exercise 
focused primarily on constructing medical clinics. 
 
¶13.  (U) Foreign donors who are directly engaged in water and 
sanitation programs in the Dominican Republic include IDB, 
Japan, Germany, and Brazil.  A variety of NGOs are also 
involved in water and sanitation programs, especially in 
rural and marginal rural areas where the Dominican government 
lacks the necessary resources.  Private sector firms, such as 
Procter and Gamble (P&G), are contributing funds and 
resources to the Dominican water problem.  P&G's Director of 
Children's Safe Drinking Water Program has linked up with 
Population Services International (PSI) to provide safe 
drinking water in the Dominican Republic.  Their product, PUR 
(purifier of water), was developed in collaboration with the 
Center for Disease Control.  PUR changes heavily contaminated 
brown water into clear drinking water.  PUR destroys 
pathogens, parasites, heavy metals, and other impurities.  It 
has reduced the number of diarrhea deaths in other countries 
tremendously.  PUR cannot remove fluoride, nitrates, or 
sodium chloride (i.e., cannot be used for desalinization). 
P&G is working with PSI to distribute PUR in the Dominican 
Republic. 
 
¶14.  (SBU) Opportunities to provide access to potable water 
are best located at the local level.  Communities, which have 
 
received assistance, have created water committees that are 
in involved in the daily water distribution activities as 
well as collecting fees for the aqueduct's operations and 
providing future plans to maintain access to potable water. 
These committees are the focal points for U.S. assistance. 
For larger areas as well as urban areas, the main government 
institution is INAPA.  The principal concern with providing 
assistance to INAPA is its inefficient management and lack of 
targeted results.  Thus, U.S. engagement should focus its 
efforts on supporting municipalities and community-based 
organizations that are highly committed to achieving concrete 
results and managing their funds in a cost-effective manner. 
HERTELL