Update on Water-

So we had water back on Sunday but this afternoon it went away again...

Here is the latest post:
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By DON WINNER for Panama-Guide.com - Heavy rains started falling in Panama two weeks ago, on Tuesday, 7 December 2010. The rains lasted for three solid days, and the amount of rainfall has been described as "historic" and "unprecedented." In fact, records were broken all over the country during that period but the heaviest amounts of rain fell on the Eastern part of the province of Panama down towards Chepo, as well as in the province of the Darien which borders with Colombia, and in the province of Colon, especially along the "upper coast" of Colon near Portobelo. The tremendous amounts of rainfall caused mudslides all over the country. Massive amounts of mud and debris were washed into Lake Alajuela, which provides drinking water for the capital of Panama City through the water purification plant in Chilibre.

Turbidity In The Water: Since this event started, Panama's National Institute of Aqueducts and Sewers (IDAAN) has been struggling to continue to provide drinking water to their customers. This morning an IDAAN spokesman who has more than 30 years of experience working with IDAAN and the water treatment plant in Chilibre said they have never seen levels of turbidity this high in the source - Lago Alajuela. He said that a few days ago the numbers of particles in the water was as high as 700 and yesterday it had gone down to 350 or so, but normally they should be seeing a number between 5 and 10 for standard operation. When asked when the situation would return to normal his official answer was "I don't know, and no one knows" how long it would take for turbidity levels in Lake Alajuela to return to normal.

The Affect on Panama City: Operations and Maintenance crews at the Chilibre water treatment plant have to constantly clean the muck from the filters and the plant is running at a reduced capacity. IDAAN advises that everyone should be using the water coming from the taps to bathe, wash clothes, or flush toilets, but if you're going to drink it or use it to cook with then it should be boiled first. IDAAN has been trying to "ration" water service around Panama City, however there are some neighborhoods located in higher elevations - such as Bethania and Villa de las Fuentes - and apparently the pressure in the "system" never gets high enough to bring water up to these customers. The net result is that thousands of people have been going without water service for weeks. And those who do have water coming out of the tap have seen the water come and go as the service is supposedly "spread around" town on a kind of distribution schedule, using IDAAN's valves. Only those who have large water tanks on the roofs of their buildings have been spared.


NASA's True Color Image of Lake Alajeula: Today NASA published this true color image of Lake Alajuela which reflects the level of turbidity and the amount of dirt and mud suspended in the water;

• In early December 2010, the Panama Canal closed for only the third time in its 96-year history. Two artificial lakes linked to the canal, Gatún and Alajuela, reached their highest-recorded water levels, prompting authorities to close the canal for 17 hours. The canal reopened on December 9.
• Lago Alajuela serves as a reservoir for the Panama Canal, which lies to the lake’s southwest. On December 17, 2010, several days after the canal’s temporary closure, the Advanced Land Imager (ALI) on NASA’s Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) satellite captured this natural-color image of Lago Alajuela. This image has been rotated so north is to the right. The canal lies off the top left corner of the image.
• Torrential rains can erode soils, delivering heavy sediment loads to streams, rivers, and lakes. Ranging in color from dull green to tan, Lago Alajuela appears choked with sediment, contrasting sharply with the surrounding green forest.
• Panama is accustomed to heavy precipitation. The rainy season lasts from May to January. The Panama Canal actually depends on huge quantities of water—each trip through the canal requires some 52 million gallons. Still, heavy rains in early December 2010 overwhelmed the region. The same rains that raised Lago Alajuela’s water level and filled it with sediment also forced thousands of residents to evacuate, washed out roads, and caused deadly landslides.

Copyright 2010 by Don Winner for Panama-Guide.com. Go ahead and use whatever you like as long as you credit the source. Salud.

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It's pretty amazing they closed the canal!
There are rumors flying around abouthow long it will last and
if water will come back. It's really not that bad.
Here is another cool picture, it is supposedly the
filtering system tank thingies:


It hasn't rained at all for about 3-4 days now so I'm sure it's getting better already.
BTW- We are not getting water because we live on the highest point in the city,
in case your wondering why it is even affecting us. We live in the Bethania area
that is always mentioned...hehe..