Water crisis worsens in Havana: "This is no way to live"

The company Aguas de La Habana announced this Wednesday operational adjustments following the failure of pumping equipment in the Ariguanabo water supply source due to breakdowns, drastically worsening the supply crisis faced by the residents of the capital.

Through the social network Facebook, the entity informed users residing in the West about the service outage to carry out the necessary work and stated that -currently- only five of the 12 necessary equipment are operational, which has led to a distribution by specific circuits.

The situation has been exacerbated by a deficit in the number of pumping equipment, which adds to other reported issues such as a shortage of other resources in the hydraulic infrastructure and frequent interruptions in the electricity supply.

The question that persists among residents is: when will the regime take effective measures to address this critical situation? The lack of immediate solutions is seriously affecting the quality of life of the Habaneros, who are facing an increasingly complex and urgent problem.

A neighbor from the lower area of Vedado told CiberCuba that water has not come into his house for 40 days, and in fact, complaints abound in the publication on the mentioned social media platform, with all the reason that may exist.

"Electricity and its blackouts are no longer enough, the lack of transportation and food, now there is also a lack of water, it is a 100 percent inefficient system," wrote an internet user in his response.

While the young Claudia Castillo recounted her ordeal: "In Punta Brava, only the high area got water; the other parts did not... many houses were left without water because it was last taken five days ago, and it was only a little because there was no pressure."

“Gentlemen, this greatly affects the quality of life, and we are not going to go into details about how it is already quite messed up for Cubans. Please, water is vital; we cannot live without it. With the heat and diseases, the lack of food, we are going to dehydrate if we are denied access to it for so many days,” he added.

"This is no way to live. It’s abusive; I don’t even have water to drink in my house, with a small child, and I can imagine that many mothers, elderly people, or anyone else are in the same situation because it is vital for everyone," Castillo wrote amidst the frustration.

Dozens of residents from the San Miguel del Padrón municipality in Havana took to the streets on Saturday night to protest against the electricity outages and acute water shortages they have been experiencing lately.

With the cry of "put the water on" and banging pots, a group of Cubans protested in the San Francisco de Paula popular council and marched through its streets until they stood in the Calzada de Güines.

Although this situation occurs all over the island, Havana is facing a serious crisis and hundreds of thousands of citizens are suffering from frequent interruptions in access to the vital liquid.

The causes were unknown until a week ago when Antonio Rodríguez Rodríguez, president of the National Institute of Hydraulic Resources (INRH), "spoke up" in brief statements to the local weekly Tribuna de La Habana.

According to the media, Rodríguez explained that the identified problems are closely linked to the scarcity of hydraulic infrastructure resources and interruptions in the electricity supply, which has further complicated the situation.

To calm the spirits, the president of INRH stated that it is expected that the necessary equipment will arrive between September and December, which will allow for an improvement in service and its extension to currently underserved areas.