Since September 2022, IDAAN has been attending protests related to the water supply of a group of 17 neighborhoods located around the Nicolás Solano hospital in the Chorrera District.
These areas, south of La Chorrera, represent the aqueduct networks at the end of the supply, supplied mainly by the Mendoza and Trapichito water treatment plants.
The 17 neighborhoods are made up of Villas de Costa Oeste, Don Juan, Vista Mar, Palmeras de Costa Oeste, Altos de Araguaney, Costa del Sol and 13 others, and correspond to the highest points of the township of Playa Leona, which is why they can be seen affected in the water supply, constantly.
In the event of any electrical incident, partial stoppages in both water treatment plants, for maintenance or damage typical of the dry season, reduce said supply, as is the case at this time.
To the east of these 17 neighborhoods, there are another 12, among which are Arboledas, Villa Nazaret, Quintas del Pacífico, El Progreso, Verde Mar, Brisa Mar and the community of Puerto Caimito, which belong to the same macro sector of the aqueduct, but They are found at lower points in the network in reference to sea level.
Most of these 12 neighborhoods have less time to be built, and due to their orography they have a water supply, 24 hours a day, every day, without major setbacks, except for events that paralyze the total production of the water treatment plants.
After the 2022 protests, IDAAN has held permanent meetings with the residents of the 17 neighborhoods on the West Coast, to plan actions and optimization interventions that could improve distribution, so that water reaches them more regularly. , though not quite a 24/7 supply.
The conditions of the growth of the demand in the entire district of La Chorrera and the Western Sector, exceed the supply of water since 2019, which creates a deficiency in continuity, and it becomes evident in the high points of the network.
To eliminate this gap, the ACP will build the expansion of the Mendoza Water Treatment Plant (from 40 to 60 million gallons per day) and IDAAN is building the new Howard Water Treatment Plant (40 million gallons per day). However, they are solutions that will work in the next 24 months.
For this reason, it is important to continue with optimization and control measures of the network, in order to achieve a more balanced and equitable distribution, which mitigates the deficiencies that the 17 neighborhoods that are in the high points have, in relation to the 12 that they are at the lowest points; while they finish expanding and building the new plants.
These increases in the production of drinking water are aimed not only at closing the gap between the low supply and the high demand that currently exists, but also at guaranteeing the supply of water for the thriving urban growth of Panama Oeste, which will be enhanced by the millionaires investments in roads (3rd line of the Metro, 8-lane highway and the 4th bridge over the Canal) developed by the National Government.
