In the community of Naos, corregimiento of Barrio Balboa, in La Chorrera, more than 4 thousand people depend on rainwater and water trucks for their water supply. This reality contrasts with the two rusty and unused 15,000 and 30,000-gallon tanks of the National Aqueducts and Sewers Institute (IDAAN). Evelia Ortega has lived in Naos for 30 years and relies on rainwater stored in plastic tanks. "The years of carrying water on my head from a stream and neighboring houses have caused serious injuries to my spine," she stated. Evelia said she is confident that water will soon flow from the tap following the order given by the executive director of IDAAN, Rutilio Villarreal, to proceed with improvements to a pumping station and the rehabilitation of the two storage tanks.
The project includes the installation of telemetry equipment that will be operated from the IDAAN headquarters on the Brazil Avenue. It also involves the installation of a 1.5-kilometer pipeline to supply the two storage tanks. The project in La Chorrera will have an approximate cost of $399,697.80. With this project, Villarreal said, the use of water trucks in the communities of Naos and Las Palmitas, in the corregimiento of Barrio Balboa, will be eliminated; a plan that has allowed IDAAN to save $11 million nationwide. The executive director of IDAAN added that a similar project will be carried out in the communities of Koskuna and Bello Horizonte, corregimiento of Veracruz, district of Arraiján, for 324 homes. "Both projects aim to improve the supply of drinking water, bringing health, well-being, and development to the communities," indicated Villarreal. The estimated approximate cost is $578,305.60, and the project is intended to improve the drinking water supply in the communities of Koskuna and Bello Horizonte (Tranquilandia), in the corregimiento of Veracruz, district of Arraiján.
