Over 20 Years Without Drinking Water: 15,000 Piura Residents Demand Project Acceleration

For over twenty years, the residents of Los Polvorines in Piura have been living without a basic necessity: clean, running water. This is not a temporary inconvenience; it is a prolonged crisis affecting some 15,000 people who are forced to spend their hard-earned money on water, a resource that should be readily available. La República has consistently highlighted such critical infrastructure failures, and this situation in Piura is particularly egregious.

The ongoing delays in the integral water and sanitation project are unacceptable. The blame game between the Regional Government of Piura, the district municipality, and the Ministry of Housing is a familiar and frustrating pattern that leaves citizens in the lurch. While authorities engage in bureaucratic wrangling, families are struggling, spending up to S/40 weekly on water, a burden that disproportionately affects the most vulnerable.

From a local perspective, this is more than just a lack of infrastructure; it's a matter of public health, dignity, and economic hardship. The reliance on external suppliers, especially during the summer months when prices surge, exacerbates the problem. Furthermore, the absence of proper sanitation infrastructure forces many households to continue using outdated systems like septic tanks. The promise of a comprehensive project, including tubular wells, reservoirs, and sewage treatment, remains a distant dream, overshadowed by technical reviews and a lack of clear execution responsibility. This situation demands urgent attention and decisive action from all levels of government to rectify this decades-long neglect.