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Water supply and sanitation in Guatemala

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Guatemala: Water and Sanitation
Data
Water coverage (broad definition) 95%
Sanitation coverage (broad definition) 86%
Continuity of supply (%) n/a
Average urban water use (l/c/d) 125 l/c/d
Average domestic water tariff (US$/m3) 0.013 – 3.289 $/m3
Share of household metering n/a
Annual investment in WSS n/a
Share of self-financing by utilities n/a
Share of tax-financing n/a
Share of external financing n/a
Institutions
Decentralization to municipalities Yes
National water and sanitation company No
Water and sanitation regulator No
Responsibility for policy setting INFOM
Sector law n/a
Number of urban service providers n/a
Number of rural service providers n/a

The water supply and sanitation sector in Guatemala is characterized by low and inconsistent service coverage, especially in rural areas; unclear allocation of management responsibilities; and little or no regulation and monitoring of service provision.

Access

According to the WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation, access to water and sanitation services has slowly risen over the years in Guatemala. In 1990, 79% of the total population had access to improved water sources, while in 2004, 95% of the population had access. Sanitation coverage has also risen, from 58% of the total population having access to adequate sanitation in 1990, to 86% with access in 2004. The government of Guatemala estimates that the population without access to water services is growing at a rate of at least 100,000 people every year. [1]

Urban (47% of the population) Rural (53% of the population) Total
Water Broad definition 99% 92% 95%
House connections 89% 65% 76%
Sanitation Broad definition 90% 82% 86%
Sewerage 68% 17% 41%

Source: Joint Monitoring Program for Water Supply and Sanitation WHO/UNICEF (JMP/2006).Data for water and sanitation based on surveys including the Guatemalan Demographic Census (1994), the World Health Survey, WHO (2003), and the Encuesta Nacional de Salud Meterno Infantil (2002).

Accurate and reliable data regarding coverage in rural areas is unavailable. Conflicting statistics as to the percentages of the population using improved drinking water sources present difficulties in assessing the seriousness of the problem. Although the data above shows that water and sanitation coverage in both rural and urban areas is fairly high in Guatemala, the Sistema Nacional de Informacion de Agua y Saneamiento, (SAS) which collects and maintains information regarding water and sanitation in rural communities, released information in 2002 indicating that only 53% of homes (it is assumed that this statistic refers to households in rural areas due to the rural focus of SAS) had access to water services. [2] The SAS considers accessible services to be less than 1 kilometer from a home and that at least 20 liters of water is available to each person every day. [3] While 24,000 rural communities exist in Guatemala, SAS has only collected data from 36% of these, making it difficult to determine the actual number of individuals lacking services. [4] . Access to water in urban areas is irregular, as 80% of urban water systems function for an average of 12 hours every day. [5] As of the year 2000, 25% of water in urban systems was disinfected and only 1% of all collected sewage water has been treated. [6] 

== Quality of service ==

The water and sanitation sector in Guatemala is characterized by “low coverage, poor quality services, and deteriorating physical assets,” [7] related to a need for increased investments in basic infrastructures. Population growth, agricultural expansion, unevenly distributed services, and polluted sources have contributed to the inability of citizens to access adequate amounts of clean water. .

Responsibilities for water and sanitation

Policy

The Comité Permanente de Coordinación de Agua y Saneamiento (COPECAS) was created in 1985 by the Government Decree (Acuerdo Gubernativo) 10036-85 to coordinate the work of all public agencies in the water and sanitation sector. [8] This committee is run by government officials delegated to the task, with support from the Pan –American Health Organization (PAHO). [9] 

The Instituto de Fomento Municipal (INFOM), created in 1957 is a decentralized public institution whose mission is to support municipalities through the provision of administrative, financial, and technical assistance.[10] In 1997 the Government Decree 376-97 gave INFOM the responsibility to manage the political and strategic aspects of the water and sanitation sector in Guatemala. [11]

In the same year, the Unidad Ejectora del Programa de Acueductos Rurales (UNEPAR) and the Proyecto de Agua Potable y Saneamiento del Altiplano (PAYSA), programs for rural water and sanitation that had formerly acted under the Ministry of Health, were placed under the management of INFOM. UNEPAR acts under INFOM but continues to manage all rural water and sanitation projects, and has separate financing from the national budget as well as the German Development Bank (KfW).[12] UNEPAR also manages the data base of Sistema Nacional de Informacion de Agua y Saneamiento (SAS) which collects and maintains information regarding water and sanitation in rural communities.

There is no law granting all people the right to clean drinking water in Guatemala. [13]

Provision of services

Article 253 of the Constitution of the Republic of Guatemala gives municipalities the responsibility to use their resources to provide public services. [14] In 2002 the Municipal Code published as Government Decree 12-2002 confirmed the legal responsibility of municipalities to deliver public services, including water and sanitation, to all those living in urban and rural areas. [15] Water and sanitation services can be provided directly from a municipality, or through a group of municipalities who are organized to provide services together (“mancomunidades”). Tariff rates for services must be approved by municipalities. [16]

Municipalities have a difficult time serving urban and especially rural areas due to a lack of resources. Communities themselves, through the creation of water committees, often manage local systems. Water committees are considered to be private operators and are regulated by the Civil Code. Committees are elected by community members and are responsible for the collection of tariffs and the operation and maintenance of the system. [17]

It is written in Article 122 of the constitution that all land within a 50 meter radius of a source of water is owned by the government of Guatemala. [18] Communities and other private operators must purchase the land and water rights for a water source before developing a new system.

The Unidad Ejecutora del Acueducto Nacional Xayá-Pixcayá, managed under the Ministry of Public Communications, Transportation and Labor, administers, operates, and maintains the National Aqueduct which supplies water to Guatemala City.[19]

The Municipality of Guatemala City created the Empresa Municipal de Agua (EMPAGUA) in 1972 to manage Guatemala City’s sewage and water services. Today it is the largest municipal water provider in the country. [20] XELAGUA manages the water supplies in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala’s second largest city. [21]

Several independent companies distribute potable water by tanker trucks and through private networks to rural and urban communities, serving at least 32% of Guatemala City alone. [22] Compañía Nacional de Agua de Mariscal is the largest and oldest of these companies, providing services to approximately 14% of the population of Guatemala City.[23]

Regulation

The Ministry of Public Health and Social Assistence (MSPASA) is legally responsible for monitoring drinking water quality at a national level. [24] They provide water quality testing services for private and public operators.

The Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources, along with INFOM, is officially responsible for environmental regulation in the water and sanitation sector. [25]However, there is no real effective environmental management in the sector. [26]

Economic regulation in the sector is practically non-existent. Tariffs for service provision are determined by politics, and there are no organizations which monitor providers in order to detect abuses of the system. [27]

History and recent events

In 1996 the government of Guatemala and Unidad Revolucionaria Nacional Guatemalteca (URNG), the guerilla movement, signed a peace accord which ended 36 years of a civil, guerilla war. [28] This conflict left over 100,000 Guatemalans dead and created over 1 million internally displaced refugees. [29] This recent tumultuous history, along with a fairly new constitution written in 1985 and then again amended in 1993, can explain a lack of information regarding water and sanitation, as well as low service coverage.

While many improvements have been made since the end of the war, Guatemala continually suffers from political violence and corruption, drug trafficking, and a large trade deficit. [30] In light of these problems, it has been difficult for the national government to raise funds internally, or to attract assistance and investment from international donors and financial institutions. [31] These financial set-backs prevent needed improvements in the countries’ general infrastructure, such as education, public health, and water and sanitation systems.

From 1991 to 1998 the President of the Republic created a Secretary of Hydrological Resources whose mission was to order and plan the water sector and to make a Water Law. [32] Several proposals for the law were turned down, largely due to the lack of a legal and institutional framework for managing water resources in Guatemala. [33]

In 1995 COPECAS, in collaboration with other principal institutions, conducted a country-wide analysis of water and sanitation to address disorganization, contradictions and discrepancies in the sector. [34] This study led to changes in the coordination and management of the sector, such as giving INFOM the responsibility to manage the sector.

In 1999 the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food (MAGA) was given responsibility for creating an Integrated Management Plan for Hydrological Resources, which will focus on water resources in terms of a political, legal and institutional framework, information and sustainability, and education. [35]

In 2002 the Inter-American Development Bank gave Guatemala support for the reform and reorganization of INFOM in order to better serve and assist municipalities. [36]

Investment and Financing

Total government expenditures in water and sanitation increased from 197.8 million Quetzales (US$ 31.4 million) in 1998 to Q 285.8 million (US$ 37.1) in 1999. [37] This represented approximately 0.2% of the Gross Domestic Product and 1.5% of total government expenditures for 1999. [38] Spending by the central government increased dramatically in the sector, with only US$ 6.07 million spent in 1995 to US$ 56.13 million spent in 1998. [39] Investments in the sector lagged far behind other sectors in 1998, especially when taking into consideration the previously small investments made in water and sanitation. For example, spending in each of the sectors of Education, Culture and Sports; Transportation; Defense and Security; and Work and Social Provision, exceeded that of the sector for Water and Sanitation by an average of 900%. [40]

Government sponsored investment is channeled through various organizations, including INFOM and UNEPAR, the Ministry of Health, the Fondo de Inversión Social (FIS), and the Fondo Nacional para la Paz (FONAPAZ). [41] The lack of cohesion amongst these organizations prohibits the coordinated growth and advancement of the water and sanitation sector.

External support

A large share of investments is financed through external assistance. For example, the German Development Bank (KfW) has financed US$ 20 million in projects through UNEPAR. Since 1994, the FIS has invested US$ 160 million in water and sanitation projects with the use of loans from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the World Bank. [42] Numerous local and international NGOs such as CARE and Agua del Pueblo also contribute money, supplies, and technical assistance.

Interamerican Development Bank

A loan of $50 million was approved for execution in 2003 for the construction of potable water and sanitation projects to benefit a minimum of 500,000 new rural consumers. Loan components also include institutional strengthening of INFOM and community strengthening.

World Bank

Guatemalan Second Social Investment Fund] A $50 million loan approved in 1998 for community based projects including water and sanitation.

  1. ^ Inter-American Development Bank. 2003. Guatemala Rural Water and Sanitation Program (GU-0150) Loan Proposal. [1]
  2. ^ United Nations Development Program. 2002. “Metas del Milenio: Informe de Avance de Guatemala”. Guatemala. [2]
  3. ^ United Nations Development Program. 2002. “Metas del Milenio: Informe de Avance de Guatemala”. Guatemala. [3]
  4. ^ Inter-American Development Bank. 2003. Guatemala Rural Water and Sanitation Program (GU-0150) Loan Proposal. [4]
  5. ^ Organización Panamericana de la Salud (OPS), OMS. 2000. “Evaluación de los Servicios de Agua Potable y Saneamiento 2000 en las Américas.” [5]
  6. ^ Organización Panamericana de la Salud (OPS), OMS. 2000. “Evaluación de los Servicios de Agua Potable y Saneamiento 2000 en las Américas.” [6]
  7. ^ Inter-American Development Bank. 2003. Guatemala Rural Water and Sanitation Program (GU-0150) Loan Proposal. [7]
  8. ^ Centro Panamericano de Ingeniería Sanitaria y Ciencias del Ambiente (CEPIS). 1997. “Progress in the Privatization of Water-Related Public Services: Country-by-Country Review for Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean.” Guatemala. [htp://www.bvsde.paho.org/muwww/fulltext/ppm/ppmguat.html]
  9. ^ Colom de Moran, Elisa. 2005. “Estudio de los Cambios Legales en el Marco de la Privatizacion del Agua en Guatemala.” MenshenRecht Wasser, Brot fur die Welt: Germany. [8]
  10. ^ Instituto de Fomento Municipal (INFOM). 2006. Gobierno de Guatemala. [9]
  11. ^ Inter-American Development Bank. 2003. Guatemala Rural Water and Sanitation Program (GU-0150) Loan Proposal. [10]
  12. ^ Inter-American Development Bank. 2003. Guatemala Rural Water and Sanitation Program (GU-0150) Loan Proposal. [11]
  13. ^ Water for People. 2005. “Strategy Paper- Guatemala.” [12]
  14. ^ Republic of Guatemala. “1985 Constitution with 1993 Reforms.” [13]
  15. ^ Inter-American Development Bank. 2003. Guatemala Rural Water and Sanitation Program (GU-0150) Loan Proposal. [14]
  16. ^ Inter-American Development Bank. 2003. Guatemala Rural Water and Sanitation Program (GU-0150) Loan Proposal. [15]
  17. ^ Inter-American Development Bank. 2003. Guatemala Rural Water and Sanitation Program (GU-0150) Loan Proposal. [16]
  18. ^ Republic of Guatemala. “1985 Constitution with 1993 Reforms.” [17]
  19. ^ Centro Panamericano de Ingeniería Sanitaria y Ciencias del Ambiente (CEPIS). 1997. “Progress in the Privatization of Water-Related Public Services: Country-by-Country Review for Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean.” Guatemala. [htp://www.bvsde.paho.org/muwww/fulltext/ppm/ppmguat.html]
  20. ^ Centro Panamericano de Ingeniería Sanitaria y Ciencias del Ambiente (CEPIS). 1997. “Progress in the Privatization of Water-Related Public Services: Country-by-Country Review for Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean.” Guatemala. [htp://www.bvsde.paho.org/muwww/fulltext/ppm/ppmguat.html]
  21. ^ Organización Panamericana de la Salud (OPS), OMS. 2000. “Evaluación de los Servicios de Agua Potable y Saneamiento 2000 en las Américas.” [18]
  22. ^ Solo, Tova Maria. 2003 . “Independent Water Entrepreneurs in Latin America: The other private sector in water services.” Washington, D.C.: The World Bank.
  23. ^ Centro Panamericano de Ingeniería Sanitaria y Ciencias del Ambiente (CEPIS). 1997. “Progress in the Privatization of Water-Related Public Services: Country-by-Country Review for Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean.” Guatemala. [htp://www.bvsde.paho.org/muwww/fulltext/ppm/ppmguat.html]
  24. ^ Centro Panamericano de Ingeniería Sanitaria y Ciencias del Ambiente (CEPIS). 1997. “Progress in the Privatization of Water-Related Public Services: Country-by-Country Review for Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean.” Guatemala. [htp://www.bvsde.paho.org/muwww/fulltext/ppm/ppmguat.html]
  25. ^ Colom de Moran, Elisa. 2005. “Estudio de los Cambios Legales en el Marco de la Privatizacion del Agua en Guatemala.” MenshenRecht Wasser, Brot fur die Welt: Germany. [19]
  26. ^ Organización Panamericana de la Salud (OPS), OMS. 2000. “Evaluación de los Servicios de Agua Potable y Saneamiento 2000 en las Américas.” [20]
  27. ^ Centro Panamericano de Ingeniería Sanitaria y Ciencias del Ambiente (CEPIS). 2000. “Evaluación de los Servicios de Agua Potable y Saneamiento 2000 en las Américas”. Guatemala. [21]
  28. ^ United Nations Development Program. 2002. “Metas del Milenio: Informe de Avance de Guatemala”. Guatemala. [22]
  29. ^ Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). 2006. The World Factbook. Guatemala. [23]
  30. ^ Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). 2006. The World Factbook. Guatemala. [24]
  31. ^ Water for People. 2005. “Strategy Paper- Guatemala.” [25]
  32. ^ Cobos, Carlos Roberto. 2002. “El Agua: Situación Actual y Necesidades de Gestión.” Universidad de Rafael Landivar: Guatemala. [26]
  33. ^ Cobos, Carlos Roberto. 2002. “El Agua: Situación Actual y Necesidades de Gestión.” Universidad de Rafael Landivar: Guatemala. [27]
  34. ^ Organización Panamericana de la Salud (OPS), OMS. 2000. “Evaluación de los Servicios de Agua Potable y Saneamiento 2000 en las Américas.” [28]
  35. ^ Organización Panamericana de la Salud (OPS), OMS. 2000. “Evaluación de los Servicios de Agua Potable y Saneamiento 2000 en las Américas.” [29]
  36. ^ Inter-American Development Bank. 2003. Guatemala Rural Water and Sanitation Program (GU-0150) Loan Proposal. [30]
  37. ^ Organización Panamericana de la Salud (OPS), OMS. 2000. “Evaluación de los Servicios de Agua Potable y Saneamiento 2000 en las Américas.” Quoted from public investment Branco of the Secretaría de Planificación y Programación de la Presidencia (SEGEPLAN). [31]
  38. ^ Organización Panamericana de la Salud (OPS), OMS. 2000. “Evaluación de los Servicios de Agua Potable y Saneamiento 2000 en las Américas.” Quoted from public investment Branco of the Secretaría de Planificación y Programación de la Presidencia (SEGEPLAN). [32]
  39. ^ Organización Panamericana de la Salud (OPS), OMS. 2000. “Evaluación de los Servicios de Agua Potable y Saneamiento 2000 en las Américas.” [33]
  40. ^ Organización Panamericana de la Salud (OPS), OMS. 2000. “Evaluación de los Servicios de Agua Potable y Saneamiento 2000 en las Américas.” [34]
  41. ^ Organización Panamericana de la Salud (OPS), OMS. 2000. “Evaluación de los Servicios de Agua Potable y Saneamiento 2000 en las Américas.” [35]
  42. ^ Inter-American Development Bank. 2003. Guatemala Rural Water and Sanitation Program (GU-0150) Loan Proposal. [36]
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