public services

Idaan drained by water bills, leaks

Idaan’s Juan Antonio Ducruet said the agency has beefed up collection policies to reduce $35 million in annual losses.

Every year, the Instituto de Acueductos y Alcantarillados Nacionales (Idaan) reports a loss of about $35 million in unpaid water bills and services rendered for social benefit, according to Idaan director Juan Antonio Ducruet.

This figure corresponds to roughly 30 percent of the 180 million gallons processed daily at the water treatment plant in Chilibre. Leaks account for about 20 percent the total losses, said Ducruet, who estimated that 36 million gallons of water, or $2 million worth, are wasted each day by broken pipes within Idaan's waterworks system.

The government contributes $5 million in subsidies to Idaan's annual budget for its services.

As part of its plan to address the system's economic problems, Ducruet said Idaan is cracking down on delinquent customers, and is recruiting additional contractors to reinforce maintenance crews to repair the numerous leaks in the city's network of pipes.

When questioned about Idaan's goals for reducing losses, Ducruet was realistic. "If you make the comparison, you'll see that companies providing potable water services in Latin America generally report loss rates between 20 and 25 percent."

He added that the Institute may reach a point where having a 0 percent loss would actually be more costly, since all industry had waste.

At last report, Idaan’s billing distribution department numbered 30 employees and was experiencing problems keeping up with the agency’ s 500,000 customers.

Rural customers posed a greater challenge to the agency’s collection department, especially those without waters meters, who are billed a flat rate rather than for their actual usage.

Panamanians consume 350 liters per person per day, nearly two times the average per-capita water consumption rate in Central America.