Eight months after the crisis began due to the contamination of the La Villa River, which has left most of the Azuero region without potable water for human consumption, the district of Chitré begins the process of disinfecting and cleaning its pipelines, one of the most populated areas among the affected zones.
Work will begin on Monday, February 2nd, at 8:00 AM and will extend until Wednesday, February 4th, at 6:00 PM, starting in the first macrosector, which includes the La Arena corregimiento, the Circunvalación road, and part of Monagrillo. This first sector covers the La Arena area, from the beginning of the corregimiento to the division with the Parita district, but including areas like Boca de Parita, up to the entrance of El Retén beach.
The regional manager of the National Institute of Aqueducts and Sewers (IDAAN) in Herrera, Yaurus Ibarra, explained that on Monday, February 2nd, the population must not use the water or open the taps, as a solution with high concentrations of chlorine will be injected to eliminate microorganisms and sediments accumulated in the pipes.
After a period of approximately 36 hours, on Tuesday afternoon, the flushing phase will begin, at which time only residents of the intervened sector should open their taps for 30 minutes, allowing the disinfectant solution to enter the homes and complete the internal pipe cleaning process.
Ibarra emphasized that these recommendations apply only to the areas where the work is being carried out and urged the population to remain attentive to the social networks and official channels of IDAAN, where the detail of the neighborhoods included in each sector will be published.
In the rest of the Chitré district, no disinfection work will be carried out during this stage; however, low pressures will be registered due to the need to maintain the supply to the intervened area.
Ibarra clarified that the disinfection is not carried out by corregimientos, but by technical divisions of the network, covering sectors such as La Arena center, the road towards Cuatro Caminos and Boca de Parita, the Pesé road, the economic center's crossing, and the El Mangal area.
This process is part of a plan divided into two large macrosectors, which will later include the rest of Chitré and the Monagrillo district, on dates that will be announced in due course.
The entity highlighted that this network recovery plan has already been developing in the Los Santos province, where the pipelines of Llano de Piedra, the conduction line from the Rufina Alfaro plant to Las Tablas, as well as the entire district of Las Tablas and Guararé have been disinfected.
There are still communities pending intervention: La Villa de Los Santos, Santa Ana, El Ejido, La Espigadilla, Llano Largo, El Bongo, and Los Olivos, as well as the Macaracas water treatment plant and its distribution networks, as part of the actions to progressively restore the supply of safe drinking water throughout the region.
