Breakage in mains leaves 80% of the city of Santiago de Cuba without water.

Currently, there are hydrological areas in the city of Santiago de Cuba that have been without water for over 10 days.

Rotura en una de las dos conductoras de agua principales de Santiago de Cuba © Abel Dorta Armaignac
Breakage in one of the two main water pipes in Santiago de CubaPhoto © Abel Dorta Armaignac

One of the two conduits that connect the reservoirs of the northwest system with the Quintero water treatment plant in the city of Santiago de Cuba suffered a breakage last Tuesday, leaving 80 percent of the city without water supply service.

Beatriz Johnson Urrutia, secretary of the PCC in the province of Santiago de Cuba, reported on Facebook that the 1,000 mm pipeline that supplies the city with water from the Gilbert, Charco Mono, and Gota Blanca reservoirs has suffered a breakdown.

Screenshot from Facebook / Beatriz Johnson Urrutia

He pointed out that the rupture affected the distribution of the precious liquid to the Quintero system, which serves 80% of the city's population.

Additionally, he pointed out that the fault was located in a joint in the section located in Melgarejo (El Cobre) and that the welding work was completed this Thursday, a fact he regarded as an achievement because it was done "under difficult conditions, in the rain."

The leader indicated that early Thursday morning, tests began to verify that the break had been resolved, "to resume the operation of the system, which will guarantee the supply of water to the Quintero drinking water plants and distribution to the population," she pointed out.

Likewise, the Water and Sewage Company "Aguas Santiago" informed that once the service is restored, priority will be given to hospitals and other state centers.

An article published by the official Tele Turquino warns that tanker trucks will be used, alerting that these places "will have to take all measures to ensure the continuation of their services."

According to the information published in the statement, there are currently hydrological sectors in the city of Santiago de Cuba that have been without water for more than 10 days, in addition to the time it will take to repair and start up the system.

Last May, more than 100,000 people were left without water supply for over 48 hours in the city of Ciego de Ávila, due to a break in one of the pipes carrying the precious liquid.

The breakdown occurred in the 800 millimeters (mm) diameter conduit that is located at the outlet of the Tanque Apoyado pumping station, which supplies the Southern Zone of the city, according to a report from the official newspaper Invasor.

However, the main problem with water supply in Cuba is related to power outages.

Currently, due to power outages, at least 700,000 people do not receive water daily, as the hydraulic sector is the second largest consumer of electricity after the demand of the population, as reported by official sources.

Although the number of people who do not have daily water supply due to power outages is alarming, only half of the Cuban population receives the precious liquid steadily, while the rest do not due to various reasons such as drought, lack of distribution network, breaks, corruption, among others.

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