Despite many years of concerted efforts and achievements in expanding coverage and improving service sustainability, many issues remain to be addressed in the
water
Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as a ...
and
sanitation
Sanitation refers to public health conditions related to clean drinking water and treatment and disposal of human excreta and sewage. Preventing human contact with feces is part of sanitation, as is hand washing with soap. Sanitation systems ...
sector. Key issues include: (i) a low level of coverage for both water and sanitation, in particular in rural areas; (ii) a low level of cost recovery, despite a legal obligation for tariffs to recover costs; and (iii) an institutional framework that is only partially effective.
Access
While coverage levels in
urban area
An urban area, built-up area or urban agglomeration is a human settlement with a high population density and infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas are created through urbanization and are categorized by urban morphology as cities, t ...
s are high using a broad definition of services, the coverage with higher levels of services (house taps and sewers) remains low compared to demand and to other countries in the region.
Water and sanitation coverage in Paraguay (2004)
''Source'':
WHO
Who or WHO may refer to:
* Who (pronoun), an interrogative or relative pronoun
* Who?, one of the Five Ws in journalism
* World Health Organization
Arts and entertainment Fictional characters
* Who, a creature in the Dr. Seuss book '' Horton He ...
/
UNICEF
UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Devel ...
Joint Monitoring Program
JMP2006). Data fo
wateran
sanitationbased on Permanent Housing Survey of the
Census(2002).
Recent developments
In April 2007 a seminar organized by the Center of Multidisciplinary Entrepreneurial Training (CAEM)-TECMA S.A. and financed by the
IDB concluded that the Juntas need to improve their management and improve collection of outstanding bills in order to avoid institutional collapse. Otherwise a “domino effect” could occur and jeopardize the financial stability of SENASA as well as the country's commitments to the World Bank.
Responsibility for water supply and sanitation
Policy and regulation
Responsibility for policy formulation is nominally vested in the Ministry of Public Works and Communications and regulation is entrusted to an autonomous entity, th
Regulatory Agency for Sanitation (ERSSAN) The institutional framework is codified in Law 1614/00 of 2000 establishing a regulatory and tariff framework for the sector. The law, which created ERSSAN, was drafted with the expectation that private sector participation in the sector would substantially increase, which did not occur.
In practice, the Ministry of Public Works and Communications has not developed sector policies, leaving a vacuum in this important area. The regulatory agency, created for the purpose of regulating prospective private enterprises, has been ineffective at regulating the national public enterprise ESSAP. SENASA also faces many challenges, since it does not have sufficient capacity to provide adequate support to the ever-increasing number of Juntas.
Service provision
Responsibility for water and sanitation service provision in
Paraguay
Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...
in urban areas rests primarily with a national public enterprise, and with more than 1,621 community-managed water associations (Juntas de Saneamiento) in small cities and in rural areas.
The national enterprise, the Empresa de Servicios Sanitarios de Paraguay (ESSAP), is responsible for serving communities with populations of more than 10,000 inhabitants. In rural communities and small towns with less than 10,000 inhabitants water associations provide services, while technical assistance and financing are provided by th
National Environmental Sanitation Service (SENASA)
The Juntas are grouped in 10 associations which supply water to more than half of country's population The first Juntas were created with the assistance of the World Bank's first rural water and sanitation loan to Paraguay in 1977, fostering a successful long-term partnership that endures until today.
An interesting phenomenon in
Paraguay
Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...
is the emergence of independent private suppliers, called “aguateros”, since the 1970s. Their efforts account for a significant share of the expansion of urban water coverage in the area of the capital. Aguateros are private, informal service providers who operate small-scale systems with up to 3,000 connections. An estimated 500 private suppliers serve some total of about 500,000 people.
Tariffs and cost recovery
Urban areas
Urban utility tariffs are set below cost recovery levels and are adjusted infrequently, leading to substantial operating losses by the national water and sanitation enterprise. This makes it impossible to finance the investments necessary to further expand coverage and to improve
service quality.
Tariffs by Aguateros fully recover costs and compare favorably with tariffs charged by the public sector. These tariffs are not regulated, but to some extent controlled by competition between aguateros serving neighboring areas.
Rural areas
Unlike in many other countries, local Juntas are well organized and do not only recover operating and maintenance costs, but also expand their systems using their own resources and repay a portion of capital costs to the national treasury.
Affordability
According to data collected by the
Pan-American Health Organization
The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) is an international public health agency working to improve the health and living standards of the people of the Americas. It is part of the United Nations system, serving as the Regional Office for ...
based on multi-purpose household surveys, the share of water expenditures in household expenditures in urban areas of Paraguay was the lowest among 10 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean in the late 1990s. The share was on average 1.4% and 1.7% for urban households in the poorest income decile, showing an unusually low difference between the average and poor households. These shares are actually the same or even higher in rural areas, reflecting the unusual high levels of cost recovery in rural areas in Paraguay. Rural households spend on average 1.2% on water, and households in the poorest decile in rural areas spend 2.3% on water. Therefore, despite high levels of cost recovery, tariffs apparently remain affordable.
External support
World Bank
As mentioned above, the
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...
’s relationship with the Government of Paraguay and the SENASA on rural water systems goes back for about 30 years. It spans three successfully completed rural water projects: th
FirstSecond an
Third Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Projects(approved on December 13, 1977, June 16, 1981, and September 10, 1992, respectively). As a result, the Bank is one of the institutions most trusted by the Government to assist it in this sector. From 1997 to 2007 the Bank supported the US$ 55.7 millio
Fourth Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Project(approved on August 28, 1997), which aimed at increasing water supply and sanitation coverage in rural areas. A secondary development objective was to modify SENASA’s role in the sector from an implementer of projects to an efficiently managed promoter of activities.
The
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...
has also supported a pilot project to expand services in small towns by providing subsidies on a competitive basis, which involve “aguateros” as service providers. This experience is summarized in the note entitled Output-Based Aid in Water – Lessons in Implementation from a pilot in Paraguay.
Output-Based Aid in Water - Lessons in Implementation from a Pilot in Paraguay
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On April 14, 2009, the World Bank approved a $64 million loan for th
Paraguay Water and Sanitation Sector Modernization Project
The objective of the project is to increase the efficiency, coverage, and sustainability of water supply and sanitation services in Paraguay by (a) improving the governance of the sector, (b) improving water services and increasing access to sewerage services in the Asunción metropolitan area, and (c) increasing access to sustainable water and sanitation services in rural areas.
Interamerican Development Bank
In 2001 the IDB approved a US$12m loan to support
Small Community Water Supply Sanitation Project
executed by SENASA. Until 2007 more than US$7m had been disbursed.
See also
* Health in Paraguay
References
Sources
ERSSAN
SENASA
World Bank Rural Water and Sanitation Project
IDB Water and Sanitation Projects
{{Water supply and sanitation by country
Environment of Paraguay
Health in Paraguay