The Federico Guardia Conte water treatment plant in Chilibreal reached 100% of its operational capacity again this Saturday, March 28th. Therefore, the restoration of the drinking water supply will be progressive in different sectors of Panama City and San Miguelito, reported the National Aqueducts and Sewers Institute (Idaan). According to the entity, the areas most affected during the contingency—mainly high-altitude points and areas far from the network—will begin to gradually recover pressure, a process that will depend on the behavior of the distribution system. The normalization of the service was possible after completing the repair and installation of a key motor in the treated water pumping station. The work extended until the early morning and had the technical support of the Panama Canal Authority (ACP). It should be recalled that the motor damage was recorded on March 24th. This equipment drives one of the pumps responsible for pushing drinking water toward Panama City, whose failure caused a decrease in production, dropping from 223 million gallons daily to approximately 203 million. During the days of disruption, the plant operated at a reduced capacity, which generated low pressures and intermittency in the supply. However, authorities highlighted that the rapid detection of the failure and the technical response allowed for the shortening of the work time, initially estimated at several days. Faced with the recovery process, Idaan reiterates its call to the population to make a rational use of water, in order to accelerate the stabilization of the service throughout the network, especially in the areas that historically take longer to normalize.
