The wonders and marvels of Cuba’s glorious socialist revolution never cease.
More than a half-million Cubans lack safe drinking water service in their homes
More than half a million Cubans do not have access to safe drinking water in their homes, as reported this Thursday by the Commission on Industry, Construction, and Energy of the National Assembly of People’s Power (ANPP).
During the meeting, Antonio Rodríguez, president of the National Institute of Hydraulic Resources (INRH), reported that 156,000 people in Cuba do not have regular access to water supply services, while another 475,000 inhabitants access water through water tankers.
The government official stated that 10,956,255 Cubans have access to basic water supply services through aqueducts, easy access points, and water tanks.
According to statements reported by state-run newspaper Granma, Rodríguez pointed out that 20% of the total water available for a year is allocated to the water supply systems, but he admitted these systems are in disrepair, which negatively impacts the rational use of the resource.
To ensure quality of service, priority is given to responding to breaks in conduits and distribution networks. The latter remains one of the pending issues due to the low availability of spare parts and accessories, a situation that should improve in the short term with the implementation of necessary technology in the nation’s factories.
The problems do not end there. According to the president of the INRH, around 2,070,000 people receive the water service every three days or more, and there are 478 populated areas with over 2,000 inhabitants that lack partially or entirely aqueduct networks.
The national water network is also frequently affected by pump equipment breakdowns, leading to interruptions in water supply to the population. In June 2023 alone, more than 260 incidents were reported, affecting water service to over 380,000 people across the entire national territory.