AyA’s water supply could be cut off due to poor financial condition, ex-director warns

The Costa Rican Institute of Aqueducts and Sewerage (AyA) is facing a serious financial risk that could affect both its drinking water supply and wastewater treatment, said the director of the organization, who resigned this week due to an internal conflict related to with a reward. a million dollar contract with a Chinese company.

In her resignation letter, Beverly Hernandez Castro warned of a crisis at the institution due to the inability to provide accurate accounting data for its rates, which prevents it from meeting the requirements of the Government Services Regulatory Authority (Aresep) to adjust its rates and obtain the necessary funds to operate it. .

Hernandez Castro confirmed that there is currently no strategy in place to guarantee the sustainability of the AyA service to its 794,000 subscribers, coinciding with a warning issued by Aresep last month about the risk of service disruption due to project management issues in AyA.

This panorama is of great concern, as it affects not only the health of the population, but also economic activity; added. Nation On the same Saturday, he contacted Alejandro Guillen Guardia, the head of AyA, to ask him about Hernandez Castro’s departure and the grievances outlined in his resignation letter.

The official said he would resolve the matter later in the day.

The regulatory authority claims that the institute took loans for the construction of infrastructure projects in aqueducts, but did not convert these actions into rates. The situation, he said the previous month, had left almost £15bn in debt.

“Arecepa X-ray shows AyA’s inability to generate data, this photo was very painful, but it’s true. We could not give them, and since we cannot demonstrate our management in the implementation of the project, it is obvious that they cannot give us a quote,” Hernandez Castro warned.

The situation is so serious, he said, that AyA’s tariff accounting is “absolutely flawed,” to the point of failing to provide the data Arecep requires from regulated companies.

“We have no way to confirm the costs associated with the projects. It is very difficult to admit it, but the diagnosis of Arecep is clear and the sun cannot be plugged with a finger. Spending is not tracked and projects are extended beyond the deadline, which affects the population,” he added.

He even said that they had received warnings from the Comptroller General of the Republic and AyA’s own internal audit.