SIMAPA says that it will revoke the Hydraulic Services Feasibility Report issued in 2019 for the subdivision to connect to the public drinking water network if it is irregular
A committee of five people elected by the people in a previous meeting listed the points to be discussed. Photo: Jazmín Stengel.
Jazmín Stengel(Chapala).- Following demonstrations by neighbors in San Nicolás de Ibarra, Chapala authorities promised to investigate the veracity of the Hydraulic Services Feasibility Report approved in 2019, so that the “San Nicolás” subdivision could be connected to the public drinking water network.
The contractor for the developer Obras Civiles de Occidente arrived at the water intake last April 12, ready to connect the subdivision to the network of the only drinking water well that supplies the San Nicolás de Ibarra community. The subdivision plans 30 new homes, which provoked a demonstration by residents.
This action resulted in the removal of the hydraulic pipe that had previously been installed to connect to the public drinking water network without authorization from the Drinking Water and Sewerage System (SIMAPA), and also led to a subsequent dialogue between the community and the municipal government.
During the meeting on April 20, Comptroller Absalón García Ochoa, SIMAPA Director Fernando Antonio Monreal Mendoza, and chief of staff Joaquín Huerta Barrios were present. They arrived almost two hours late because they explained meeting was not scheduled in advance.
«Our priority is to supply the people» emphasized García Ochoa, who also explained that only SIMAPA personnel are authorized to intervene in publicly owned pipelines.
A review of the Hydraulic Services Feasibility Opinion, approved by the last administration (2018 – 2021) was also promised and if it is not correct, it will be revoked, SIMAPA said.
«In a hypothetical case, if we would have surplus (water) it is within our authority to allow individuals to connect to a regulated public network with meters» , detailed Absalón. In other words, the municipality can, but is not obliged to, provide water services to private developments.
The residents are adamant and prefer that the water be only for the town, because the system were connected to the development; they would only have water for two hours a day, they claimed.
At present, for those who live in the center of the town, water flows constantly from 7:00 in the morning to 10:00 at night. However, in the upper part of the northeastern part of the town water is only pumped for a couple of hours in the morning.
This is why the inhabitants demand that the water reaches the middle and high schools as well as the neighbors located in the upper part of the town, and asked that these needs be solved before connecting water to the subdivisions. That may be difficult because the second well that was opened near the school during the 2015 – 2018 administration is dry and cannot be expanded and used, according to the director of SIMAPA.
The only well that serves water to San Nicolás de Ibarra lifts 22 liters per second and is about one hundred meters from the subdivision. Meanwhile, there is another well at the opposite end whose drinking water line is only five meters away and has water outlets of 4 to 8 inches, according to local residents.
The water well located at the end of Juarez Street in San Nicolas de Ibarra was built approximately 40 years ago by the people themselves and was administered by the town residents for more than 20 years, until SIMAPA Chapala took charge of it.
Translated by Patrick O’Heffernan
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