Apr

28

Oscar Arias inaugurates new water system for area

April 28, 2009 | Tags: Government and Politics, Health | Comments Off

Oscar Arias and Roberto Sancho unveil a plaque for the new water system
Oscar Arias and Roberto Sancho unveil a plaque for the new water system

Oscar Arias, the president of Costa Rica, was among the dignitaries in Hone Creek (just outside Puerto Viejo) on the weekend to open a new water system. The new system will also service the communities of Puerto Viejo, Carbón Uno, Comadre and Catarata.  The executive chairman of Costa Rica’s water company AyA, Ricardo Sancho, said that the new service would benefit approximately 5,000 residents.

Sancho said that the project was to “install chlorination systems, construct new PVC and polyethylene pipes and distribution lines for each of the communities; also pressure valves to homes.”

The project involves pumping water from a well located near the community of Sand Box, to a storage tank located near Hone Creek. From here the water is gravity fed to the communities benefiting.

The old system often ran out of water during dry periods.

The new system was built with the financial help of the Institute for Agriculture (IDA) which contributed 25 million colones (approximately $44,000 US), and the Joint Social Welfare Institute (IMAS) which contributed ¢100 million (approximately $175,000 US).

Sancho said the residents may apply starting this week to connect to the new project.

However, comments from readers regarding the announcement indicate that the project isn’t really complete yet, but that the inauguration went ahead anyway as Arías was scheduled to attend and so they didn’t want to move the opening ceremony even though the completion of the work is “at least 2 weeks away”.

Source: Costa Rica Hoy: Hone Creek inaugura nuevo acueducto

Sep

2

Hone Creek – Puerto Viejo Road Dangerous for Your Lungs and Limbs

September 2, 2008 | Tags: Economic Development, Government and Politics, Health, Transport | Comments Off

Dust filled road between Hone Creek and Puerto Viejo
Kely, David, Nelson & Kenia Chaves travel 3 km each day to school in a cloud of dust . Photo by Mario Rojas, courtesy of La Nación.

Anyone who has traveled the road between Hone Creek and Puerto Viejo knows what a danger it is: unpaved, huge potholes, full of dust, lacking in signage, shared by bicycles and cars and pedestrians with no separation between them. It has always been a strange exception in that the route between San Jose and Hone Creek is one of the better routes in the country, but those last 5 kilometers to Puerto Viejo remind you you’re still in the developing world.

Locals have been complaining to the municipality for years to get the road paved. The municipality always responded that they didn’t have the money to fix the road. Finally last year, the road was declared a national route by CONAVI, the national roads council.

But so far the Conavi designation hasn’t translated into a road up to standards. The minimum width of a nationally designated road is 20 meters. Darwin Mena, an engineer working with Conavi, said that this road at points is only half that and that the width is encroached upon at several points by buildings owned by the Municipality of Talamanca which need to be removed.

Neighbors complain that the many cars and buses traveling at high speeds are a daily risk to people on bicycles and on foot that are covered by clouds of dust. Not only does the narrow potholed road cause collisions, the clinic in Hone Creek reports that they treat at least 4 people each week who were hit by stones thrown up from the road.

At the Hone Creek clinic doctors have also reported another hazard of the road — increased cases of asthma. The cases have been reported by those who need to commute the road daily by bicycle, children who walk along the road to get to school and those living near the dusty road. The director of the clinic, Wilman Rojas said that 80% of those living on the edge of the road are suffering from respiratory problems.

Eddie Ryan of the Chamber of Tourism says “As inhabitants of this place, we feel completely abandoned. Puerto Viejo is a unique tourist destination and the need for repair of this road is urgent.”

Ryan stated that the road receives maintenance every six months, but weeks later is damaged again. “The grader scrapes the street and spreads the material, but when it rains you lose all the work.”

The engineer Mena said that the repair of the road could be done in two years. Funds are supposed to be budgeted for 2010 to execute the work.

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Mar

4

Health Officials to Monitor Wasterwate on Caribbean Coast

March 4, 2008 | Tags: Environment, Health, Tourism | 6 Comments

The Public Restroom at the beach in Puerto Viejo
The public restroom at the beach in Puerto Viejo

The Ministerio de Salud has announced that every establishment catering to tourists and travelers will be asked to open its doors to inspectors who will assess the businesses sewage systems and whether they are contaminating the environment.

The announcement of the inspections comes in the aftermath of the closures of a number of businesses on the Pacific Coast after dangeoursly elevated fecal levels were discovered in the waters of the popular beach resort Tamarindo. Eleven businesses were closed as a result of the ministry of health investigation that followed.

Instances of hotels contaminating everything from rivers to the ocean have been popping up with alarming frequency along the Pacific Coast since this discovery. February saw the closure of Hotel Allegro Papagayo, located on Playa Manzanillo in Guanacaste (not to be confused with our local village Manzanillo just southeast of Puerto Viejo). This hotel was accused of lacking adequate facilities to treat the wastewater produced by the four-star, 600-capacity operation. Instead it was depositing it in nearby streams and in under-equipped treatment plants.

The most recent offense discovered was in Jacó, in a pool known as “Charco Anita.” Blame has fallen on Condominiums Tropical and Paradise, which had not been turning in operational reports to the ministry of health for a year. Owner Randall Van Patten was ordered to block the pipes that carry the wastewater to the site, and has been given 20 days to correct the problems.

The health ministry has promised a national review and the study in the Caribbean is part of that process.

The study in Limón Province only has 30 days for completion, and Inez Muñoz, the departmental environment officer, said that it lacks adequate personnel and transport facilities.

“Each region within the province is helping by making an inventory of hotels and tourist facilities within their area,” said Ms. Muñoz. “We do not yet have these so we do not have an exact idea of how many establishments we will be investigating. Our aim is to make sure everything is in order, and at this point I am quite sure that we will find some things that are not.”

Limón province has not seen a study like this before. In the past, the department of health for Limón dealt with each case of contamination as it occurred.

Since the government had already recognized that the growth in Puerto Viejo had outstripped the capacity of the systems and pledged money to deal with it (see Government Announces Money to Improve Puerto Viejo Water and Sewer, Talamanca News, Sept 21, 2007), it is not clear what action the government will take and whether that could include closures.

Read more: A.M. Costa Rica: Health officials to survey businesses on Caribbean

Sep

21

Government Announces Money to Improve Puerto Viejo Water and Sewer

September 21, 2007 | Tags: Government and Politics, Health | 1 Comment

agua_potable.jpgThe government yesterday announced a $113 million plan to improve sewers and build new aqueducts around the country beginning next year.

President Oscar Arias made this announcement alongside Ricardo Sancho, president of the National Water and Sewer Institute (AyA), and Alfredo Ortuño, a representative of the Central American Bank for Economic Integration, according to a statement from Casa Presidencial.

A chunk of this money came from a $68.5 million loan the bank made the institute; another $44.5 million came from the institute’s own funds.

The project aims to guarantee “sustainability of potable water systems for the next 20 years,” improving aqueduct and sewer systems in the San José metropolitan area as well as in Puerto Viejo, on the southern Caribbean coast, the statement said.

It also seeks to benefit communities in the Pacific province of Puntarenas including Buenos Aires, Esparza, Palmar Norte, Coto Brus, Golfito, Jacó and Ciudad Neilly as well as parts of the northwestern Guanacaste province including Nicoya and Liberia. In the province of Alajuela, San Ramón, Palmares, San Mateo, Poasito and Atenas are included.

“We can’t hope to be a developed country by 2021 if our system of sewers and aqueducts does not develop along with us,” the President said.

Story courtesy of The Tico Times.

Aug

23

Dengue fever spike on Caribbean

August 23, 2007 | Tags: Health | Comments Off

Dengue cases in Caribbean 2006 and 2007
There isn’t much specific information for the South Caribbean and Puerto Viejo but A.M. Costa Rica is reporting today on a spike in Dengue fever in the Caribbean. Levels are much higher than last year.  The Ministry of Health graph shows Dengue cases for 2006 (in green) compared with 2007 (the blue line).

The Ministry plans to attack the problem by seeking emergency funds for more spraying.  Some local businesses and homeowners are not crazy about the idea of chemicals being sprayed inside their homes. Of course, the best way to prevent dengue is to make sure there are no places for mosquitoes to breed on your property, i.e. no sources of stagnant water.

You can read the entire article on A.M. Costa Rica.