Water shortages worsen as oil supplies dwindle

HAVANA (AP):

Nearly three million Cubans experience water shortages every day because of a severe oil shortage that government officials blame on a US energy blockade, authorities said late Wednesday during a roundtable discussion on the impact of the ongoing blockade.

The island’s water system is operating with only 37 per cent of the fuel required, as Cuba faces its worst energy crisis.

The water system is among the sectors most affected, as it is one of the country’s largest energy consumers, said Antonio Rodríguez, president of the state-run National Institute of Water Resources.

Details of the forum, which focused on the intermittent water supply affecting a population of nearly ten million people, were published yesterday on the official website Cubadebate.

Rodríguez said that not only does water pumping consume electricity, but all of the agency’s essential activities require fuel — from unclogging pipes and cleaning septic tanks to repairing leaks. Chemical supplies are also needed, and their import is currently paralysed.

According to Rodríguez, the agency once purchased parts and other supplies worth some $100 million annually, but in the past year, purchases totalled only about $10 million due to a complete suspension of credit. Many suppliers are placing contracts on hold as they assess when it might be advantageous to deliver supplies to Cuba or what obstacles might arise in processing bank payments, not to mention limitations on shipping services, he said.

Complicating matters are ageing infrastructure and oversaturated pumping stations, especially in large cities such as Havana, Santiago de Cuba and Matanzas, Rodríguez said. Many high-rise buildings and apartments also require electricity to power the pumps that lift water to elevated tanks.

The water crisis is not new, but it has worsened in recent months.

Since January, the US government has tightened sanctions already imposed on Cuba as it pressures the island to change its political model. US President Donald Trump also threatened in late January to impose tariffs on any countries that sell or supply oil to Cuba, which produces only 40 per cent of the fuel it needs.

The population, already having endured five years of economic crisis, inflation and shortages, is now struggling with daily power outages lasting up to 20 hours.

Many neighbourhoods in Havana receive water deliveries by tanker trucks, but these remain inconsistent.

“It’s been five days since the water came in,” Magaly Ribial, a 60-year-old teacher, said yesterday as she collected water for her home from a tanker truck parked near her house in Old Havana.

Meanwhile, 95-year-old Dayse Izquierdo struggles to carry water and relies on what her neighbours bring her when the tanker truck — known in Cuba as a “pipa” — arrives.

Some residents said they even walk from other parts of the city when they hear that water trucks are arriving in a particular neighbourhood.

“The water situation is widespread,” said 55-year-old Carlos Molina. “I come from another municipality to collect water because there is none there.”

Rodríguez noted that only a small portion of the agency’s operations depend on solar panels and other alternatives.

Authorities are developing an accelerated solar energy programme, though experts note that such technologies require costly investment.