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Essay On Cuba Water And Sanitation

Satisfactory Essays

Karter Ketchum
Barkela
Ag Paper
February 20, 2017
Cuba Water And Sanitation
Over the past ten years, Cuba’s economic decline has led to a slow but steady deterioration of water supplies and sanitation services and a resulting increase in waterborne disease. When water shortages in parts of Cuba reached crisis proportions last year, two communities solved the problem by taking matters in their own hands and using slow sand filters as home water-treatment systems.

In Santiago de Cuba, on the eastern part of the island, water shortages made headlines in August of last year. People in some areas of the city, including Veguita de Galo, were doing without water for up to 20 days at a stretch. In other areas, such as La Torre, service was frequently …show more content…

Of the 924 residents surveyed early on in the project, almost 45 percent did not treat their water. Furthermore, those most directly affected by the poor water quality did not seem aware of the risks involved in using it. The survey also revealed that almost all families stockpiled their water most often, in any container at hand.

There is no systematic information on the quality of water and sanitation services in Cuba. Some parts of the country, such as in Santiago de Cuba, residents at times go without water for as much as 20 days. Water is not reliably chlorinated, partly due to the unavailability of chlorine. As a result, residents receive water that is not safe to drink and have to store it in their homes, which further increases the risk of contamination. Some households have to resort sand filters to treat water in their homes.

In 2000 between 90,000 residents of Havana had to receive water in tanker trucks, because the antiquated water supply system was unable to provide them with water. Since then, the system has been repaired and this number has been considerably

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