As high tourism season approaches, the rainy season peters out and the drought continues, Tamarindo struggles to make sure there's enough water to supply the town.
At least half a million residents of Costa Rica’s Greater Metropolitan Area (GAM) will suffer water shortages and rationing until next year due to low rainfall levels recorded in the current rainy season, the Water and Sewer Institute (AyA) reported Monday.
The City Council of Santa Cruz in the northwestern province of Guanacaste has continued to issue construction permits despite warnings of endangering the area's limited water supply.
Officials from the Water and Sewer Institute (AyA) and the Paraíso Municipality on Wednesday agreed to the first steps in addressing ongoing water shortages that in recent months have extended to two additional Cartago cantons.
Farms and tourist areas near the country’s colonial capital, located 22 kilometers east of San José, have been hit hard by water scarcity, including diminished reserves that traditionally supply enough water for the entire province and more than half a million residents in eastern San José.
Water in Costa Rica will be considered a public good, and general access for consumption will be a fundamental right, according to a bill passed in a first-round vote Monday night at the Legislative Assembly.
Water shortages currently affecting 77 communities throughout Costa Rica likely will continue until the end of April, the Water and Sewer Institute said this week.
A new report estimates that a lack of rainfall and rising sea levels from climate change threaten an “alarming” number of Costa Rica’s indigenous flora and fauna, and human access to potable drinking water.
