Low-income families will have low costs for water

Thanks to the Universal Access to Drinking Water Law, low-income families would pay less than s/20 for drinking water

As stated by the Minister of Housing, Construction and Sanitation, Hania Pérez de Cuéllarwith the provisions of the Law of Universal Access to Drinking Water, low-income families that currently pay up to 100 soles per month for water supply, will see their rate reduced to less than 20 soles a month.

«Currently, the Families that do not have access to the free water program and depend on tanker trucks pay between 80 and 100 soles monthly,” he said in an interview.

“Through the provisions promoted by law, these families will pay between 10 and 20 soles. “This represents significant savings for the most vulnerable households,” she added.

The minister highlighted that the law, approved by the plenary session of Congress last Wednesday, will facilitate the rapid implementation of measures so that 3 million 140,000 Peruvians have access to drinking water in their homes in the next four years.

«It is an unprecedented law; no previous government has addressed the 3.14 million Peruvians who currently lack water service in their homes«, he expressed.

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The Minister of Housing, Construction and Sanitation explained that quick alternatives will be implemented to provide water through measures such as community tanks, tanker trucks, mobile purification units, pylons and domestic filtersamong other non-traditional techniques.

«The initiative of this law seeks to provide drinking water to these 3.14 million Peruvians through non-traditional methods while permanent works are carried out,” he said.

Minister Pérez de Cuéllar reaffirmed that privatization of the service is not contemplated, since it is not contemplated in Legislative Decree No. 1620 or in the Law of Universal Access to Drinking Water.

He indicated that this legislation establishes a cross-subsidy mechanism, similar to the one that exists globally, where a surcharge of 3% will be applied for domestic users and 4% for non-home users. This equals approximately 1.5 or 2 soles per cubic meterequivalent to the price of a bottle of water.

Minister Pérez de Cuéllar moved to the human settlement Children of Paradise, in Comas, to supervise the distribution of free drinking water to families who lack home services. This supply, carried out by tanker trucks, also reaches the families of the Niño de Jesús settlements in Comas, as well as May 15 and June 16 in Independence.

The official spoke with the residents and leaders of the works oversight committees, detailing the scope of the Universal Access to Drinking Water Law and how it will benefit their homes.