Water Reservoirs in Tegucigalpa Drying Up

The two main reservoirs that provide the bulk of the drinking water for the approximately 1.2 million residents of Tegucigalpa continue to dry up due to a severe lack of rainfall during the past six months. Honduras' water authority, SANAA, instituted a water alert in November and has imposed water rationing, but the water level at the Los Laureles reservoir is now down to 46.7 percent of its capacity and the level at the La Concepción reservoir is down to 46.82 percent. Los Laureles. A third reservoir, the San Juancito-Picacho, is also operating at minimum capacity. The water situation in Tegucigalpa, however, is particularly bleak for the city's roughly 500,000 residents, or 50,000 families, who are not connected to SANAA's distribution system. These individuals must purchase barrels of water for their drinking, cooking, and washing needs or find water wherever they can, including in areas where there are broken pipes. Tegucigalpa reportedly loses over 50 percent of its water supply due to pipeline leaks.

There is heightened concern by government health authorities that the water crisis could provoke the spread of diarrhea and diseases such as Cholera, Hepatitis A and Typhoid in Tegucigalpa and surrounding areas, as people, out of desperation, begin consuming water that is more contaminated. Additionally, as people try to store whatever water they find, this may create breeding grounds for mosquitoes and thus increase the spread of dengue and malaria. The national meteorological service, SMN, is forecasting the current drought conditions in Honduras to continue at least until summer. (2/10/10) (photo courtesy Proceso Digital)