One of the many challenges that rural communities face when it comes to local governance is the administration of village councils and water boards. Political party fanaticism has infiltrated the grass roots so much that party favors seems to have made this level of government dysfunctional. The water board of San Jose Palmar seems to have overcome this dilemma, at least with the present water board. Arturo Cantun highlights their work.
“In 2005 the community of San Jose Nuevo Palmar was the recipient of an upgraded water system. This included a 20 thousand gallon water reservoir and new modern pipes throughout the village. Right after its completion a new board was named; Alejandro Mendez became president. He told us it’s not easy administering such a system.”
ALEJANDRO MENDEZ
“If we don’t do our jobs the correct way we will definitely run into financial problems. If we need to disconnect, we must do it. We don’t play politics in this thing; if you’re blue or red, it doesn’t matter, you will be disconnected.”
Mendez explained that he along with his team have ensured that the system runs to its utmost best, having in stock plumbing supplies and a growing savings account. These saving have allowed the water board to take up a major project, the installation of a reverse osmosis system.
“We see the need for it because we saw our villagers going to Orange Walk purchasing their purified water and we decided that we could do it; we could get the funds. It might not be in a short time; it would take some time but we could accumulate the funds and install the system so we can provide the water at a cheaper rate.”
In addition to the new system the Palmar Water Board is also constructing an administrative office for the board. This follows a request of the former village council that they evict the space they were using in the community center. Nonetheless Mendez says they are positive about the project they have embarked on.
“We are expecting to function well because we should be creating jobs.”
The board faces a problem though. Because of its close proximity to Orange Walk Town, in reality only a narrow street separates them, some town residents come to use water from Palmar where residents only pay a flat rate of $10.
“We have some people from our neighbors in Orange Walk that take advantage of the system to wash their vehicles, filling gallons and taking them to their place which is not legal.”
“We noticed recently that the pump was not working to its capacity and that is why we decided to change it. Now that we found out what the problem is, we still decided to change the pump and upgrading from 7.5 to 10 and this will provide 140 gallons per minute and the reserved gallon will fill quicker.”
“The new water pump cost approximately $4900 while the cost of the reverse osmosis system and new office for the board totals approximately 20 thousand.”