Water supply and sanitation in the Dominican Republic

Access

In 2015, around 1.6 million people lacked access to "improved" water and 1.7 million lacked access to "improved" sanitation. In the Dominican Republic, 84% of the population had access to "improved" water, 86% of the urban population and 81% of the rural population. As for sanitation, 84% of the population, 86% and 76%, urban and rural respectively, had access to "improved" sanitation.

The Dominican Republic, with a population of 8.8 million, of which about 60% are located in urban areas, has a relatively high level of access to water supply and sanitation, although access in some regions and among the poor remains insufficient.

Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation (2010) based on a trend extrapolation from the results of six Dominican Republic Demographic and Health Surveys conducted between 1986 and 2007 as well as a Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey conducted in 2000.

There are substantial regional differences in coverage for water. For example, in nine provinces located in the Central, Northeastern and Eastern part of the country less than 70% of the population had access to an improved source of water supply according to the 2002 census. Poor households exhibit lower levels of access: only 56% of poor households are connected to water house connections as opposed to 80% of non-poor households. Just 20% of poor households have access to sewers, as opposed to 50% for the non-poor.

Service quality

Despite decentralization efforts and continued government support, quality and continuity of service are inadequate in the Dominican Republic. Water scarcity is increasing mainly due to excessive consumption in urban areas, a lack of demand management (low tariffs, low share of metering, limited environmental consciousness) and watershed degradation. Watershed degradation occurs mainly in the lower sections of most coastal basins and is a result of unplanned settlements and activities and lack of sanitation services.

Continuity

Continuity of services (%)

Drinking water quality

Various factors affect the water quality in the Dominican Republic, including: poor condition of purification systems, minimal operational controls, low level of maintenance of treatment plants, and mostly intermittent systems. 38.4% of water systems have no chlorination system installed. These are mostly smaller systems in rural areas. The fact that a chlorination system exists is not a guarantee that water is actually properly disinfected.

National chlorination coverage

According to 2002 figures by the service providers only 73.6% of drinking water quality samples showed satisfactory drinking water quality, as measured by the absence of total coliforms, compared to a standard of 95%. The presence of coliforms as such is not a health hazard, but that the presence of coliforms is an indicator of the potential presence of pathogens.

Wastewater treatment

In 2000 the WHO estimated that 49% of collected wastewater in the Dominican Republic received some kind of treatment. This percentage, while much higher than the average for Latin America and the Caribbean at that time (15%), is still considered insufficient.

Pollution

The depletion of groundwater and the unregulated disposal of wastewater and solid waste are creating problems that might become irreversible. The numerous new communities around urban areas and large hotels usually do not have adequate sanitation.

History and recent developments

During the 1950s and 1960s the water and sanitation sector in the Dominican Republic experienced an abrupt decentralization and subsequent re-centralization. Since 1962, the institutional framework has remained relatively stable, with a gradual process of regionalization to the provinces with the largest cities of the country. In the period since 1980, which was characterized by economic growth fueled primarily by a massive inflow of tourists, substantial investments were made and service coverage increased significantly.

Decentralization and Recentralization (1955-62)

Under the government of Rafael Trujillo (1930–1961) water service provision was first provided centrally through the General Directorate of Water Systems (Dirección General de Acueductos) in the Ministry of Public Works and Irrigation (Secretaría de Fomento, Obras Públicas y Riego). However, in 1955 all responsibilities and assets were transferred to the city councils (Ayuntamientos), a model which failed by 1962. The government of President Joaquín Balaguer thus created INAPA through Law 5994 on July 30, 1962, again administering all water systems centrally.

Gradual establishment of regional water and sewer companies (1973-1998)

In 1973, under the second Presidency of Joaquín Balaguer (1966–1978), CAASD was set up in the capital Santo Domingo as the first regional water and sewer company. This was followed by the creation of CORAASAN in the second largest city of the country, Santiago, in 1977. The regionalization process then stalled for two decades. But at the request of Congressmen representing their respective constituencies, the process of regionalization resumed and in 1997-98 laws were passed creating three additional regional water and sewer companies in Puerto Plata, Moca and Romana. At the same time, INAPA embarked on its own decentralization programme, handing over the operation of rural water supply systems to community-based organizations. These efforts were supported by technical assistance from USAID (see below).

The 1990s under the third Presidency of Joaquín Balaguer (1986–1996) and the first Presidency of Leonel Fernández (1996–2000) witnessed substantial investments in water and sanitation and an important increase in coverage. For example, access to house connections in rural areas increased from 35% in 1990 to 62% in 2004. Access to sewer connections in urban areas increased from 47% in 1990 to 65% in 2004. These increases are among the highest in Latin America and the Caribbean during that period.

Stalled reform efforts (1999–2004)

In 1999 the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) approved an important US$ 71 million loan to consolidate the reform and modernization of the water and sanitation sector. The loan foresaw the financing of investments by INAPA and regional companies, as well as substantial technical assistance. Specifically, it aimed at transforming the five regional water companies outside the capital into commercially operated entities with no political interference in day-to-day management and strong representation of municipalities and civil society in their Boards. The reform was based on the model of CORAASAN. In the case of CORAAMOCA and COAAROM, management contracts with private operators were to be signed. INAPA was to be gradually decentralized into autonomous regional units, and services in rural areas were to be gradually transferred to user associations. A condition for the effectiveness of the loan was the passing by Congress of a water and sanitation framework law that would have established a central government agency (ente rector) in charge of the sector as well as a water and sanitation regulatory agency.

Under the Presidency of Hipólito Mejía (2000–04), the water and sanitation law was debated in Congress in 2002 and again in June 2004, but was ultimately not passed. The IDB loan thus did not become effective. When Leonel Fernández became again President (2004–12) he has not taken the initiative to revitalize the stalled reform process.

Private sector service contracts in Santo Domingo (2001 onwards)

The government undertook steps to involve the private sector in water and sanitation. In 2001 CAASD signed two service contracts for the installation of meters, meter reading, billing and collection, one for the Eastern and one for the Western part of its service area in Santo Domingo. The contract for the Western part was awarded to the Colombian company AAA, which increased the share of metering from 1% to 25% and increased collected revenues by 128% in less than two years.

Policy and regulation

Policy and regulatory functions in the water and sanitation sector in the Dominican Republic are highly fragmented:

No entity is specifically in charge of sanitation and there is no policy on sanitation. According to a 2006 evaluation for USAID, the Dominican Republic is one of the few countries in Latin America where sanitation is managed by a Public Health State Secretariat that is not coordinated with the rural potable water programs. This, together with the weakness of the Environmental Health Directorate in the Public Health Secretariat, has caused latrine and sanitary education programs to be weak or abandoned.

There is no economic regulatory agency for the sector. The absence of a national strategy for water and sanitation is considered a constraint to sector development. Without a clear strategy, there is a lack of direction and no apparent separation of roles among the active sector agencies. This results in overlapping responsibilities and sometimes conflicting activities.

Service provision

Water and sewer services are provided by regional companies in the largest cities, the national water and sewerage authority (INAPA) in other cities and towns, as well as by community-based water boards in rural areas.

The regional water and sanitation companies were established over a period of 25 years, each by its own law. Each company covers one Province. Their general directors are appointed by the President of the Republic, thus showing a continuity of centralized decision-making in the presence of regional companies. Besides this similarity, the governance structure (such as the composition and function of their Boards) of each regional company is different. The regional companies are:

About 4.4 million people, or half the population of the country, live in the five provinces and the national district of the capital served by the five regional water and sewer companies.

In rural areas, INAPA handed over the responsibility for the operation of water systems to community-based water associations (Asociaciones Comunitarias de Acueductos Rurales - ASOCAR) consisting of largely unpaid volunteers.

Efficiency (water losses)

Non-revenue water has been estimated at being higher than 65%. Currently, service providers produce 41,720 liters per second (LPS), which is an average of 907 liters per person and day (LPPD) before losses. Even after taking into account losses, water use is much higher than in Europe (220 LPPD) and the United States (300 LPPD). The tourism industry explains this high consumption to a large extent. The hotel industry uses 280% more than what other Caribbean countries use - 1,483 liters per guest and night.

Tariffs and cost recovery

Cost recovery for water and sanitation is minimal. Average tariffs are moderate at US$ 0.21 per cubic meter for water and US$ 0.07 per cubic meter for sewerage. Collection rates are extremely low at only 28%. As a result of moderate tariffs and very low collection rates, according to a WHO estimate in 1998, households paid on average only US$ 0.50 per month for water and US$ 0.09 per month for sewerage. Electricity bills of the utilities are directly paid for by the central government. The regional water and sewer companies and INAPA rely largely on subsidies from the central government using mechanisms that are not transparent and do not promote efficiency.

In rural areas, communities set their own water tariffs. However, the level of estimated operation and maintenance costs is usually not taken into account when setting tariffs. In rural areas, tariffs are flat rates independent of consumption since there are no meters. Tariffs in Hato Mayor Province were set at 10-25 Dominican Pesos (less than one USD) per month in 2006. Two communities near in an economically active area near Baní charge higher tariffs of between 20 and 500 Pesos per month, depending on the economic conditions of each household.

However, there were some improvements. In 2006 the revenues collected by the regional utility in Puerto Plata was 2.5 times higher than in 2002 due to tariff increases and better bill collection. This allowed the utility to generate a moderate surplus to contribute to the financing of investments. The utility has also signed a performance and financing agreement with the national government, providing more transparency and incentives to improve efficiency.

Investment and financing

A total of 84% of investments made between 1990-98 went to urban centers, while only 16% went to the rural zones Average annual investments for potable water supply was US$87.9 million (1990–1998), which is a relatively high level of per capita investments compared to other developing countries. However, investments are not well allocated. For example, investments are biased towards water supply at the expense of improved sanitation and wastewater treatment, which received only 2.3% of total investments.

It has been argued that poor allocation of resources has resulted in lower increases in coverage rates than would be expected, given the levels of investments. Also, little coordination has been carried out by donors.

Investment financing comes mainly from the central government, with some modest contributions by some regional utilities from their own revenues.