Key Determinants Impacting Water Supply Issues in El Salvador

Among communities in El Salvador, there is a huge disparity among communities in the availability of continuously flowing, potable water as of 2008. The problem involves a diverse array of key determinants which contribute to the prevalence and severity of the issue, which the most pressing of the determinants being in each of the following categories:

The sociocultural and behavioral aspects contribute a great deal to the consistency of water management and resource availability. One such determinant is the availability of sanitary and water management services. A large majority of the water systems in El Salvador are controlled by the public institution Administración Nacional de Acueductos y Alcantarillados, which sets the regulations surrounding water supply management – the service continuity of which was ranked extremely low. In the past decade, Salvadoran populations have protested government-controlled water management systems in a hope for reform toward decentralized water management. Such community organization is a social determinant that can have an effect on whether the issue will persist. Another determinant in this category is the impact of religious groups in communities – Roman Catholic missionaries have had a huge impact on providing communities with consistently flowing and clean water systems and the education to continue such advocacy (World Trade 2010).

Environmental determinants are greatly involved in this problem. The extent of environmental degradation, such as deforestation and industrial dumping, has an effect on water resources. In El Salvador, there is a lack of regulatory enforcement and control in dealing with f pollutants, which contributes to pervasive health issues (Calderóne 2009). Also, urban versus rural living is a determinant for the problem due to the associated risks of population density if health services are lacking. Data collected by the Population Division of the Comisión Económica para America Latina y el Caribe found that rapid urbanization occurred between 1950 and 2000 -- from 36% of the population living in urban areas to 64% over the half-century. This urban movement is a determinant that results in more pollution issues – a lack of adequate sanitation and water distribution system pervades due to this unplanned urban sprawl and population growth.

Economic determinants such as the level of poverty in a nation and general spending power are a contributing factor to the status of water quality. Despite being the smallest nation in Latin America, El Salvador is the third wealthiest in the region. But, 36% of its almost 7 million inhabitants live under the poverty line (World Trade 2010). Also, the factors associated with economic growth can determine stability of social and health programs. El Salvador’s economy is also hugely intertwined with the United States – the U.S. is the number one buyer of the nation’s exports and a major foreign aid player in the nation, and 17% of El Salvador’s GDP comes from remittances sent home by immigrant workers in the U.S. (World Trade 2010). Its major export is coffee, and being a commodity-based economy results in volatility from pricing fluctuations. Another determinant is the distribution of wealth – the highest quintile of the populations holds almost 50% of the nation’s wealth (ECLAC 2012). Interestingly, the ratios remain similar in both rural and urban populations.

Politically, government spending plays a part in the problem of water infrastructure. A study comparing social program spending in Chile, Costa Rica, and El Salvador reported that, between 2006 and 2007, Chile and Costa Rica invested a considerable amount per capita (US$733 and US$885), while the right-wing Salvadoran government invested only US$192 (ECLAC 2009). Also, the history of the nation’s political system has had a huge effect on health and environmental changes – the costly twelve-year Salvadoran Civil War that took place between 1980 and 1992 upended existing systems and set back regulatory progress.

Works Cited:

ECLAC (2012): Statistics and Economic Projections Division, Social Statistics Unit, based on

special tabulations of the respective country's household survey data:.Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean:

ECLAC (2009): Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean. Rep. Santiago De

Chile: United Nations: ECLAC, 2009. Sage Journals.

Calderóne, Gloria, and Gisella Kopper. Estudio De Caso–Enfermedades Transmitidas Por

Alimentos En El Salvador. Rep. Pan American Health Organization, 2009. Web. .

World Trade. El Salvador Society & Culture Complete Report: An All-inclusive Profile

Combining All of Our Society and Culture Reports. 2nd ed. Petaluma: World Trade Press, 2010.