Residents of Las Mercedes denounce destroyed streets and more than 20 years without potable water

Los Alcarrizos.- Residents of the Las Mercedes sector, in the municipality of Los Alcarrizos, reported that they have been without regular potable water service for more than 20 years, a situation that they say seriously affects the families of the community.

Community members stated that, due to the scarcity of the liquid, they are forced to buy water trucks with prices between RD$2,000 and RD$2,500, which represents an additional economic burden for the residents of the sector. As they explained, in the community there is a space where a water storage system could be built to help solve the supply problem. “I’ve lived here for over forty years, and at first we had water, but we’ve been without it for over thirty years. The authorities tell us they’re going to fix it, but they never do,” said Marcos, a resident of the area. The complainants also claimed that the Santo Domingo Aqueduct and Sewerage Corporation (CAASD) broke several streets in the sector to carry out work related to the water supply, but maintain that the works did not solve the problem.

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“They tore up the whole street up there supposedly for water and in the end we have neither water nor street,” said a community member. While Luis stated that the service worsened after the installation of new pipes. “Before water used to arrive, but after they broke that pipe and put that new pipeline, it never arrived again,” he indicated. Meanwhile, Carlos maintained that many families depend on makeshift wells to get supplies. “There are many wells, but if you don’t have a room, you don’t have water,” he expressed. Residents called on the authorities to intervene in the sector and respond to a problem that, they claim, has affected the entire community for decades.