Water resources management in Nicaragua

Water resources management in Nicaragua is carried out by the National water utility and regulated by the Nicaraguan Institute of water. Nicaragua has ample water supplies in rivers, groundwater, lagoons, and significant rainfall. Distribution of rainfall is uneven though with more rain falling on an annual basis in the Caribbean lowlands and much lower amounts falling in the inland areas. Significant water resources management challenges include contaminated surface water from untreated domestic and industrial wastewater, and poor overall management of the available water resources.

The legal framework has historically been fundamentally flawed by a lack of specific water laws and regulations with numerous agencies sharing management duties. There was a 1998 reform aimed a specifying management roles for each of the management institutions and a National Water Law was approved in 2007 that focuses on water resources and regulates water use of different sectors.

Water management challenges

Although water covers ten percent of Nicaragua's surface, environmental degradation, pollution, and simple scarcity in some regions threaten the country's ability to provide potable water to sustain its population and productivity. Today, nearly a third of Nicaraguans do not have access to potable water. In rural areas, where 72% of people lack such access, citizens must often procure their water from shallow wells, rivers, streams, and lakes that are polluted with residential sewage, pesticides, and industrial toxins. Although 93% of urban residents can claim to have either legal or illegal water connections, cities are subject to frequent water outages, particularly during the dry season.