Water pipes in Venezuela spend 65% of the time empty, according to NGO

The Venezuelan NGO Monitor Ciudad assured that drinking water pipes in the country can spend up to 65% of the 168 hours in a week without supply, due to shortages and service failures.

According to a report presented by the organization, “of the 168 hours in a week, the pipes spend on average more than 65% of the time empty”.

The annual study, corresponding to 2021, which covered the areas of Caracas, Maracaibo, Valencia, Valles del Tuy and the state of Amazonas, reported that “all the aqueducts in the country are without water most of the time”.

“Due to the countless failures in the supply systems, Venezuelans manage to make the most of the few hours of service they receive, storing the largest amount of water in tanks and in whatever container serves to reserve it.”, the organization pointed out.

On this, the monitor assured that those who do not have tanks to store water spend up to 14 hours a week collecting the necessary for their daily activities.

“Regardless of the region of Venezuela where we monitor, the failures in the water supply systems are alarming”, says the report.

The City Monitor confirmed that Amazonas, a state located in the south of Venezuela, was the region of the country that received the fewest hours of pipeline service during 2021.

“Barely ten hours of service a week (in Amazonas). Its inhabitants subsist by storing water and building artisanal wells.”, said the NGO.

The organization estimates that this year there will be little investment in water and sanitation and described as “unlikely” that the Venezuelans “perceive significant improvements in the quality of services”.

Different NGOs and organized citizens have denounced, for several years, the constant failures in the water service throughout Venezuela.

Recently, President Nicolás Maduro asked the governors to look for “solutions to improve public services in terms of water, electricity, roads, solid waste and gas”, and assured that they were already “ready” the resources to work on an investment scheme during 2022″.