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Private
administration of water in a district of
Cusco
Margen Derecha is a city below Cusco where
a part of the poor population is concentrated.
In 1983, 17 districts of Margen Derecha
joined together to manage themselves their
own drinkable water supply network. The
commune of Cusco, normally responsible for
this service, did not have funds sufficient
for the installation of running water. It
thus proposed to pay the material and asked
the districts to provide the labour.
To find water in quantity and sufficient
quality, it is necessary to make upstream
11Km in a valley leading to that of Cusco.
The work of water conveyance to be undertaken
is thus size.
All the inhabitants of Margen Derecha without
exceptions were put at contribution saturdays
and Sunday to take part in the creation
of the water reserve on the river, with
the construction of the "station of
treatment", with the digging of the
track to reach it and the mainlaying on
the mountainsides.
"In
all we had 6000 workers, some one paid of
their life"
One
will need 4 years and 6000 workers to complete
this work of ants. The history is beautiful
bus it proves that well defined men and
with little means can build sets their future.
Gustavo Castro is today responsible for
the structure of its district but also among
that chapeautant all the districts within
the community, it is him which took us along
to the hydrant 11Km upstream. We are ridden
there by car by the overland route and stones
dug with mountainside.
"This road built we it gradually, at
the same time as the bleeding where the
drain passes that you opposite see on the
other pouring". "the army was
charged to make the carcass work heavy castings
with explosives and we were to occupy ourselves
of clearing and transport of all the material".
"We were supposed to work saturdays
and Sunday and the army the week, but in
spite of that we had accidents". "Each
person in charge for family (owner of house)
was to assemble a certain number of asbestos
cement drain, four per family". "But
each tube only weighs with him 130Kg, one
thus needed two people to assemble it".
"One day, I was with my brother and
we were in the train of market along a escarpée
slope, suddenly an explosion made start
my brother and it dropped the tube. Only,
I pus to retain it and it fell into the
ravine ". "Thanks to God a tree
blocked it low and we could go up it with
cords". "But it of wounded there
much and even a death". "We had
all our work downtown to which the drudgeries
for the tubes and the digging of the road
were added". "Some wanted to thus
advance the week to benefit from the Sunday
rest and thus worked at the same time as
the army. They got information alas never
about the places where the explosions were
done and a day unfortunately a man was carried
by one of it ". "Many which is
those had more chance and which was reached
only deafness...".
In
1987, after this fantastic human adventure,
the result is there: all the inhabitants
of Margen Derecha have running water all
the day that they pay 4 plates per month
(more or less an euro). This network, it
is them which it have built and they of
are proud, if they had waited until the
city has money to make it, they would have
still to undoubtedly wait 10 years.
"Gradually
water is not enough any more and the collected
money does not allow investments"
But
gradually, water is not enough any more
for everyone because the population of the
city increases in a disproportionate way
and the inhabitants of the villages located
above Margen Derecha take water more and
more.
Another major concern (makes some most important),
the famous asbestos cement drains, which
had been offered by a foreign government,
are manufactured with asbestos. "Even
if they are in perfect state today, we must
all change because asbestos is extremely
toxic" precise Gustavo.
"And these are not the 4 plates that
we perceive per month which would enable
us to do it, we hardly manage to pay our
eight employees and the chlorine which we
add for the water treatment".
Certain districts, within sight of the problems,
were withdrawn from the community and passed
to the water of the city which has the capacity,
today, to give water to any Margen Derecha
24h/24.
The eight irreducible districts (40 000
people) which remains in the community have
water 2h all the 48h. During these two hours,
they make reserves by filling all the containers
which they can.
"Some
financial backers resell water 10 times
what they pay it"
Then
which is it the problem, why a Community
management of water turns to the fiasco?
According to Gustavo, there are two reasons:
- the raising of prices of water is impossible
and thus does not allow the community to
put money on side for great work "at
such point, it is that at the time of a
rising having destroyed the small reserve
where the hydrant is a few years ago, we
have to make call using the province for
all to rebuild".
- Any decision in the community is voted
in the majority, and in the majority of
the houses there are several families. The
owner of the house, which is the only one
to vote, rents parts of his house, sometimes
up to 7 families. Each family it makes pay
a rent and "a small" supplement
for l"eau. This supplement reaches
sometimes indecent prices since it can be
10 times superior with the 4 plates which
pay really the owner. How small anecdote,
Gustavo tells us that at the time of the
removal of the administrative office of
the structure which manages the water, the
new financial backer (which did not know
it) asked him for 30 plates for water pretexting
that water was very expensive in this district
of the city! ?
"We
thus have little room for manoeuvre, especially
that within 2 years, there will be no more
water, and we have this big asbestos problem".
"the commune does not want any more
to help us because it is able to feed any
Margen Derecha". Another problem, a
law passed in 1989 aims at prohibiting the
administration of water by a private structure
(the structure of Margen Derecha is Community
but private)".
And nobody wants to change, the ones (old
men especially) say that the network belongs
to them because it is them which built it
and which there is no reason to give it
to the state, the others do not want to
lose the substantial margin that they are
done on the back of the community. "Only
the young people and the women want to pass
to the water of the city".
During
this time all these problems remain:
- Diarrhoeas in the children who often consume
water not-pulp, directly in the containers
which are stored with the free air in the
courses of the houses;
- Intoxication with the asbestos of all
the community;
- Lack of water which is accentuated with
the fact that the village community which
is upstream does not respect the agreement
made in 1987 and takes water more and more
all the day for the irrigation and the consumption
of the village.
"we
need last with the administration of the
city as fast as possible"
"the
only solution would be to pass to the water
of the city but on the eight persons in
charge for district, only two or three are
for and they are followed only by 10% of
the voters". "We thus seek financings
at the international level to pay the 15
000 PVC drains which would have to be replaced,
and to install a new station of collecting
upstream in another valley".
But
which will pay for people who are made money
on the back of the others?
Would a doubling of the price of water or
an installation of meter solve all the problems,
then why allow à.70% of the owners
which rents their house to make pay more
expensive water with people who have even
less money than them?
Would a French private company make worse?
The only equitable solution is to pass to
the state (at the town of Cusco) which will
remove and replace the current network and
will install meters, but it will be necessary
that they are installed with the entry of
each family, if not the owners will continue
to profit from it for surfacturer in an
illegal way.
The assistance which outside could bring
today (ONG or international co-operation)
could be on the level of sensitizing to
the use of water, the toxicity of asbestos
and can be a little civic education!
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