Water Strike – Action Plan

Zihuatanejo City Council’s Plan to Combat the Water Strike by CAPAZ

Update: 13 July, 2008 – The strike has finally been settled.

“With the equipment that a day before was removed from the CAPAZ offices will work a provisional office in the municipal palace, informs the mayor

“There are teams to operate pumping stations, treatment plants, wells, valves and transport, and drivers, meter readers and collectors”

FELIPE SALINAS GALVÁN despertardelacosta.com

The City council of Zihuatanejo de Azueta started up an emergency plan to take care of the population due to the strike started yesterday by more than 300 unionized CAPAZ workers.

The mayor Juan Noriega Urieta presented the preventive actions to representatives from the tourist sector and authorities of the three levels of government that participated in the presentation, before whom who it was revealed that its administration will not allow that the inhabitants and the hotel zone remain without water.

Later, interviewed by local reporters, the mayor informed that in the facilities of the municipal palace, beside the property tax offices, an emergency office will be set up where administrative workers of CAPAZ will receive water bill payments and will take care of public inquiries with two telephone lines.

“It is already the plan of contingency to continue giving service to the community because it is the law; it is not possible leave people without water, as a hospital cannot operate without medical attention. We have our plan of contingency, that consists of counting on personnel to operate pumping stations, treatment plants, wells, valves, transport, drivers, meter readers, and bill payments, we are making this effort to ensure the service stays”, he emphasized.

The municipal president called on the population to trust that service will be maintained, as well as to the hotelkeepers with the coming of the summer vacation season.

He assured that the unionized workers of CAPAZ have the obligation to provide service and said that when these fail, then the emergency teams will enter, and that was the reason that Tuesday afternoon, computer equipment, tools and automobiles were removed to be able to operate from the offices of the municipal government.

“It is administrative unemployment; people are unemployed, but in the offices; they do not allow that our administrative people work, for that reason is that we had to remove transport, tools, spare parts, and computers, to be able to continue operating”, he explained.

He finally stressed that with the putting in operation of the well in Barrio Viejo a few days ago, and the beginning of pumping in Salitrera next week, the potable water supply in Zihuatanejo will have considerable coverage, “not one hundred percent”, but considerable to combat the lack of water in the higher altitude neighborhoods.