Water resources management in the Dominican Republic

529:, groundwater has a potential of 1,500 million m/year, but less than a third of this value is actually being extracted. Although coastal limestone aquifers contain only about 4 percent of the available groundwater reserves, human activities in the southeast of the country (from Santo Domingo to La Romana and Punta Cana) are heavily dependent on them – for example, some 30 percent of Santo Domingo's water supply comes from underground sources. As a result, coastal limestone aquifers are overdrafted and seawater intrusion already reaches inland 20 to 50 km from the seashore. Many coastal aquifers are at risk of contamination from agrochemicals and poorly located solid waste disposal, contributing to water scarcity by making resources unavailable. 985:), and 235 deaths. In particular, climate shocks have included a dramatic increase in the frequency of major weather events over the past forty years, with 491 recorded major weather events during the previous decade, as compared to 126 from 1960 to 1969. Flooding has emerged as the most common recorded disaster during the 1990s, replacing fires for the first time in nearly fifty years. Alarmingly, flooding is mostly due to non-extreme weather events. Out of the recorded 464 major flooding events between 1966 and 2000, only 33 were caused by hurricanes or tropical storms, while the overwhelming majority of flooding was caused by precipitation during the rainy season. 946:

cubic meter for sewerage. In addition, collection rates for water supply and sanitation 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. Not surprisingly, the regional water and sewer companies and INAPA (the national water and sewerage authority) rely largely on transfers from the central budget to fund their operations. The existing schemes lack transparency and efficiency in the use of subsidies.

202:– INDRHI) responsible for planning the sustainable use of water resources and associated resources, as well as designing, formulating, executing, monitoring and evaluating projects, programs and actions aimed at controlling and regulating superficial and groundwater. Over the last three decades, the Dominican Republic government has decentralized a number of responsibilities in the water sector to other institutions, such as operation and maintenance of infrastructure and water fee collection to irrigation districts and regional water and sewer companies. In addition, the 973:

the hydropower industry (assuming a loss of hydropower generation of a mere 20 percent, the cost of dam siltation only in hydropower generation lost would exceed US$ 10 million per year). In addition, watershed degradation increases the costs of maintaining other water systems, such as irrigation channels and water supply infrastructure, and it affects coastal water quality. High turbidity from land-based sediments prevents reefs from forming in most of the Dominican coast.

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use. INDRHI collaborates with other sectoral institutions such as: (i) the State Secretariat for Agriculture and the Dominican Agriculture Institute, (ii) the Water Supply and Sanitation "Institute" INAPA, a utility operating in small towns and rural areas, and regional water and sanitation utilities in the cities of Santo Domingo, Santiago, Moca, Puerto Plata and Romana, (iii) the Ministry of Public Health, and (iv) the Dominican Electricity Corporation.

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proportion of samples with coliforms in aqueducts served by INAPA (the main water company, supplying 40 percent of the population) increased from 17 percent in 1994 to 23 percent in 1998. This is particularly striking because according to Dominican Republic standards, presence of coliforms in more than 5 percent of samples indicates that water is no longer potable.

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soil suitability and water resources availability. Most of the irrigated areas are located in the valleys between the mountain ranges, with a medium to low rainfall and few limitations on its soil such as slope, depth of soil, and in some cases, salinity problems associated with irrigation or the presence of saline groundwater.

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transfer process and the performance of WUAs are still far from ideal. While WUAs show a significant increase in cost recovery, especially when compared to low values in areas under state management, a high subsidy from the government still contributes to cover operation and maintenance costs in their systems.

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Upper watershed degradation, primarily in the form of soil erosion, has significant downstream effects. Erosion rates have been estimated at four times those of 1980. Across the Dominican Republic, sedimentation has reduced reservoir capacity by some 10-25 percent, with important economic effects for

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based on Dominican Republic Demographic and Health Survey (2002). The Joint Monitoring Program data do not mention the 2002 census as a source. According to the census, as quoted in Uriana Abreu, Slide 15, coverage for sanitation (broad definition) was 93% (96% in urban areas and 88% in rural areas).

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Water pollution is largely the product of poor urban wastewater management but solid waste and agriculture are also water polluters. In some cases, high salinity, pesticides and other pollutants are present in water close to agricultural, urban, and industrial areas. Downstream of metal mining, flows

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The situation is similar for irrigation services were annual fees varies from US$ 4.75/ha in some regions to US$ 24/ha in other regions. Water costs for a farmer only represent 0.21 to 0.58% of total production cost. Operation and Maintenance expenditure in INDRHI's Irrigation Districts for 1997 was

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According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, water fees are too low to meet maintenance and operation requirements for hydraulic infrastructure. For instance, 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

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The present Water Law, No. 5852 passed in 1962 and modified by laws 281, 238, and 431, established the main aspects of the legal framework for water resources management in the DR, including: (i) water as a public domain (meaning that ownership of water either resides with land owners or is public),

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The Dominican Water Resource Institute – INDRHI, under the Ministry of the Environment, is responsible for managing water and related resources as well as designing, implementing, monitoring and evaluating programs, projects and activities aimed at controlling and regulating surface and groundwater

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In addition, Law No. 6 of 1965 created the National Institute for Water Resources (INDRHI), the national water authority, assigning it functions at three levels: (i) policy development and planning at the constitutional (normative) level; (ii) water rights administration, regulation enforcement and

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Irrigation Management Transfer to Water Users Associations (WUAs), formally started in the mid-1980s, is still an ongoing process showing positive signs with irrigation systems in 127,749 ha (46% of total irrigated land in the country), being managed by 41,329 users (57% of all users). However, the

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About 76% of Dominican Republic's land area (8,900 km2) is dedicated to agriculture, 17% of which is irrigated. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, 270,000 ha are equipped for irrigation. INDRHI estimates the area suitable for irrigation at up to 710,000 ha, taking into account

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According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, the Dominican Republic dams’ storage capacity is 2,144 million m, 85 percent of which is stored in reservoirs behind large dams (those whose capacity exceeds 100 million m3). Most large reservoirs store water for multiple purposes (drinking water

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Tourism is one of the main economic activities in the DR. Indeed, Tourism currently comprises 13% of GDP and contributes 29% of total export earning. In addition, tourism host more than 200 companies and employ 200,000 people. Tourism depends to a great extent on the quality of water resources and

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and amplifies the damage and frequency of flooding; and (iv) the overall lack of solid waste management pollutes water sources, causes disease and is a nuisance for inhabitants and visitors alike. The Dominican Republic's government is in the process of reducing its role as main investor for water

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faces major challenges today. Despite the lack of systematic data limiting an accurate and detailed assessment of the scope of the problems, there is a consensus that: (i) the overall poor quality of surface, groundwater and coastal water resources is the result of a lack of waste water management

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In terms of climate change effects on water resources, and according to the Dominican Republic's first communication, it is expected a great decrease in spatial distribution of rainfall, and total runoff for the year 2100, demonstrating a structural change that intensifies the transition from the

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The basin is managed by the ‘Service des Ressources en Eau’ (SNRE) in Haiti and by the ‘Instituto Nacional de Recursos Hídricos’ (INDRHI) in the Dominican Republic. Both entities are endowed with capable human resources although financial means are scarce, especially in Haiti. Basin disputes have

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Needs in the irrigation subsector are related to improving efficiency, productivity and organizational aspects. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, solutions should be sought in the use of better technology, efficient operation of irrigation systems and adequate means of financial

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During the end of the 19th century and 20th century, the Dominican Republic government was one of the main investor in the country's hydraulic infrastructure development. Primarily focused on developing irrigation infrastructure in the first three quarters of the past century, Dominican Republic

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The Dominican Republic's government is in the process of designing a new legal and institutional framework for water resources management. In particular, the government is drafting a new General Water Law and Water Supply and Sanitation Law after various previous attempts. The development of the

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Although few studies on water quality have been carried out over the last two decades and there is a crucial lack of adequate and consistent monitoring, scattered evidence suggests that the levels of nutrients, organic matter, and bacteriological contamination in water are high. For example, the

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Global climate change is expected to induce permanent climate shocks to the Caribbean region, which will include sea level rise, higher surface air and sea temperatures, extreme weather events (such as tropical storms and hurricanes), and more frequent and more severe "El Niño-like" conditions.

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According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, annual government investment in water resources and irrigation infrastructure is in the order of US$ 100 million. INDRHI's budget in 2001 was RD$ 930 million (about US$ 26 million), which was mainly focused on irrigation works despite INDRHI

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The Dominican Republic has achieved impressive increases in access to water supply and sanitation over the past two decades. However, the quality of water supply and sanitation services remains poor, despite the country's high economic growth during the 1990s. The DR, with a population of 8.8

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region, 6,645. Current water demand of 10 billion m represents 44 percent of total available freshwater resources. According to the World Bank only Barbados, the DR, Mexico, and Peru exceed 10 percent demand in the Latin America and Caribbean region. Water scarcity is reflected in increasing

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and agricultural run-off, causing health problems that disproportionately affect the poor; (ii) water scarcity is a regional problem resulting from poor demand management in irrigation, urban water supply and tourist infrastructure in drier regions; (iii) weak watershed management leads to

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government invested on canal networks and irrigation technology increasing the area under irrigation from 32,000 hectares (ha) in the 1940s to 132,000 ha in 1954. In 1965, the Dominican Republic government created the National Institute for the Development of Water Resources (

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There are substantial regional differences in coverage. 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.

137:. Rapid economic growth and increased urbanization have also affected environmental quality and placed strains on the Dominican Republic's water resources base. In addition, the Dominican Republic is exposed to a number of natural hazards, such as 724:

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.

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million, of which about 60% are located in urban areas, has a high level of water services in urban areas with 97% coverage and 92% of the urban population with household connections (as compared to an average of 90% in the LAC region).

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capacity of 470 MW, accounting for 14% of electricity generating capacity. It is expected that, by 2012, an additional 762MW will have been added. The first three new hydropower plants, with a combined capacity of 240MW, are:

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the coastal environment. However, the tourism industry is threatened by the deficiency of the water and sewerage services and the environmental pollution caused by inadequate management and disposal of sewage and solid waste.

161:, higher surface air and sea temperatures, extreme weather events (such as tropical storms and hurricanes), increased rainfall intensity (leading to both more frequent and severe flooding) and more frequent and more severe " 190: 923:

The Dominican Republic and Haiti signed the Treaty of Peace, Friendship and Arbitration on 20 February 1929, which included an agreement on the border definition and the water sharing of several rivers such as the

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The Dominican Republic is exposed to a number of natural hazards, such as hurricanes, storms, floods, drought, earthquakes, and fires. The destructive force of these phenomena can be enormous - in 1998

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On the other hand, tourism harms the Dominican Republic's water resources and environment. WRM issues associated with tourism include: dumping of untreated waste water and solid waste along the coast,

1256: 1187: 1093: 1064: 510:: Food and Agriculture Organization (1) Total run off including superficial and groundwater run off. (2) Enriquillo Lake's run off is included in the Caribbean watershed total run off 1263: 1194: 1162: 1100: 1071: 1037: 604: 19: 717:

These higher coverage figures may be due to a broader definition of improved sanitation in the census compared to the Demographic and Health Survey used as a source by the JMP)

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have been found in the waters of Samana Bay and the presence of pesticides and persistent organic pollutants (such as DDT and PCBs) in estuary mollusks has also been reported.

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resources infrastructure and services provider decentralizing some responsibilities to local and regional government, water users organizations, and private companies.

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Urania Abreu 2005, Slide 22. These low rates may not take into account improvements in collection efficiency as a result of the service contracts for Santo Domingo

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could be considered abundant. But irregular spatial and seasonal distribution, coupled with high consumption in irrigation and urban water supply, translates into

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Demographic growth accelerated environmental degradation, deforestation, and lack of mitigation measures will intensify the effect of disasters in the future.

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mostly taken root because of complex economic, social and political reasons, rather than because of a lack of support or coordination by both technical areas.

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has approved a US$ 80 million loan to restore and strengthen irrigation, electricity, water, and sanitation infrastructure damaged by Tropical Storms

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support. Poor maintenance of existing infrastructure and irrational use of water are causes for the low (overall) irrigation efficiency.

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is expected to induce permanent climate shocks to the Caribbean region, which will likely affect the Dominican Republic in the form of

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hydrological services at the organizational level; and (iii) water use for the irrigation system at the operational level.

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responsibilities for other water resources management responsibilities such as water quality and groundwater management.

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The Dominican Republic's internal water resources per capita is 2,430 cubic meters, which is below the average for

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legal and institutional framework for integrated water resources management will depend greatly on these laws.

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most humid zones to the driest and an expansion of the areas of the country that are historically the driest.

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US$ 6.24 million (average U.S. $ 35/ha.) while returns (income for water fees) was only 13.8% of this value.

1366: 1363: 1342: 1129: 982: 428: 1315:"Pedernalis Basin (Haiti, Dominican Republic) Possibilities for dialogue: Integrated water management" 1224: 172: 78: 1257:"Dominican Republic. Environmental Priorities and Strategic Options: Country Environmental Analysis" 1188:"Dominican Republic. Environmental Priorities and Strategic Options: Country Environmental Analysis" 1094:"Dominican Republic. Environmental Priorities and Strategic Options: Country Environmental Analysis" 1065:"Dominican Republic. Environmental Priorities and Strategic Options: Country Environmental Analysis" 1710: 782: 775: 317: 259: 130: 129:

of 20 billion m per year, of which 12 billion m are groundwater recharge, water resources in the

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has been partially privatized in 1998–99, with hydropower remaining in public hands.

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competition for surface water allocation and unsustainable groundwater abstraction.

583: 550: 230: 219: 177: 713: 709: 1058: 1056: 1054: 1052: 542: 341: 234: 1007: 558: 546: 415: 238: 150: 521:, looking northward to the Sierra de Neiba mountains; Independencia Province. 270: 1181: 1179: 1301: 1250: 1248: 1225:"Lessons from the Dominican Experience in Irrigation Management Transfer" 705: 579: 575: 561:(169 million m) and Valdesía (137 million m), both in the Nizao River. 554: 254: 214: 146: 1321: 702: 1378:

Secretaria de Estado de Medioambiente y Recursos Naturales (2004).

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Water resources management in Latin America and the Caribbean

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World Bank:Emergency Recovery and Disaster Management Project

1156:"Dominican Republic - Wastewater Disposal in Tourism Centers" 981:

caused economic losses estimated at US$ 2,193 (14 percent of

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The detailed share for the different sources is as follows:

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Instituto Nacional de Desarrollo de los Recursos Hidraulicos

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in the country, in particular water quality, quantity and

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Pinalito with 50 MW on the Rio Tireo and the Rio Blanco,

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The two first plants were under construction in 2008.

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supply, flood control, irrigation and hydroelectric).

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