¢264 Colones A
Month Required To Finance Fire Hydrant
Program
The Autoridad Reguladora de los Servicios
Públicos (Aresep) is analyzing a plan to add
¢264 colones to the average water bill to
help pay for the cost of installing and
maintaining fire hydrants in the country.
The plan calls of the cost of ¢12 colones
per each cubit metre of water consumer,
bringing the total to ¢264 for an average
household consuming 22 cubit metres of water
a month.
The plan will be debated at a public hearing
on September 17, when the Aresp will, by
videoconference, take in public opinion in
eight communities in the country.
Video conferencing has helped the Aresep to
shorten the public meeting process, cutting
out the need for Aresep officials to travel
to various parts of the country to hold town
hall meetings.
The ¢12 colones plan has the approval of the
Bomberos de Costa Rica (firefighters) who
have had to struggle with the lack of or
non-working fire hydrants on emergency
calls.
Bomberos has plans to install some 12.017
new fire hydrants around the country, of
which 1.666 to be located near schools,
hospitals, industries and 'precarios"
(shantytowns), deemed critical.
Currently the Instituto Costarricense de
Acueductos Alcantarillados (AyA) and the
Empresa de Servicios Públicos de Heredia (ESPH),
have been able to finance the installation
of only 55 new hydrants and maintenance for
111, per year. |
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