Camagüey has 54 reservoirs and is the province with the second largest storage capacity in Cuba
Camagüey, Cuba, Sep 5th.- The construction of a 27 kilometer pipeline and the installation of two new engines that are already providing service at the Pontezuela dam station are among the investments made by Hydraulic Resources to achieve greater water pumping to this city, one of the most populated in Cuba.
This reservoir, whose system dates back to the beginning of the last century, is part of the three that supply the vital resource to the demarcation, where the sector’s budget this year supports various actions focused on improving the supply and sanitation infrastructure.
Pontezuela was the first source of drinking water in the town of Agramonte , and with the works underway it will guarantee a better delivery of the liquid to the town’s water treatment plant, since the better flow of the two motors allows for a stable extraction of 400 liters per second.
The aforementioned system currently faces frequent breakdowns due to leaks and the high deterioration of the pipeline, problems that will be minimized with the new, more durable high-density polyethylene pipes, Betsy Rodríguez Cardoso, investment director of the Provincial Delegation of the National Institute of Hydraulic Resources (INRH), told the Cuban News Agency.
The works in the aforementioned enclave are progressing favourably and are expected to be completed before the end of the current calendar, he said.
Of particular importance in the goal of increasing the transfer of water to the main city is the construction of a second 17-kilometer pipeline in the Máximo dam that will allow 600 liters per second to be injected into the 1,200 that all the systems together supply to the provincial capital today.
The work, which began in 2023, continues at its pace and as part of this effort, a first special piece is currently being manufactured -and should be completed this month- at Ciegoplast, a company in neighbouring Ciego de Ávila, with the aim of gradually replacing the existing metal pipes.
Máximo, where three new engines operate, has had four other units of its type since last year, which will be used after the completion of the pipeline, which will be connected to the Cuban-Bulgarian dam and will make it possible to supply 1,800 liters per second to the processing plant.
Of the seven electrical devices, four will always be working and three will remain as backups, the specialist clarified.
In the case of Cubano-Búlgara, the other reservoir in the capital of Agramonte, it has a 29-kilometer pipeline, rehabilitated in 2019 and new pumping equipment was replaced.
The Camagüey delegation of the National Institute of Hydraulic Resources is undertaking these tasks with the help of construction companies in the sector, the Ministry of Construction and some non- state companies in order to maintain the vitality of the infrastructure and ensure the supply of water to the population.
Despite the significant material and financial limitations, especially fuel, which directly affects the execution of the works, the INRH has not stopped its investment and maintenance plan in Camagüey and other municipalities in the territory, Rodríguez Cardoso said.
So far this year, he said, the proposed actions have been carried out favorably, with a great social impact, and millions of dollars have been allocated to them, both in the purchase of equipment abroad and in the replacement of pipes, the raw materials for which are also purchased in foreign markets.
Camagüey has 54 reservoirs and is the province with the second largest storage capacity in Cuba. Of the total number of reservoirs, 12 are used to provide water to the public.
(ACN)