page_title: Water resources management in the Dominican Republic
section_title: Surface and groundwater resources
hierarchical_section_title: Water resources management in the Dominican Republic / Water resource base / Surface and groundwater resources
caption_attribution_description: Río Chavon desde Altos de Chavon Imagen realizadapor J. Ollé Véase también: es:Wikipedia:Autorizaciones/Banderas de Jaume Ollé es:Categoría:América Central (imagen)
context_page_description: With surface water resources of 20 billion m³ per year, of which 12 BCM are groundwater recharge, water resources in the Dominican Republic could be considered abundant. But irregular spatial and seasonal distribution, coupled with high consumption in irrigation and urban water supply, translates into water scarcity. Rapid economic growth and increased urbanization have also affected environmental quality and placed strains on the DR's water resources base. In addition, the DR is exposed to a number of natural hazards, such as hurricanes, storms, floods, Drought, earthquakes, and fires. Global climate change is expected to induce permanent climate shocks to the Caribbean region, which will likely affect the DR in the form of sea level rise, higher surface air and sea temperatures, extreme weather events, increased rainfall intensity and more frequent and more severe "El Niño-like" conditions.
  Water resources management in the country, in particular water quality, quantity and Watershed management faces major challenges today.
context_section_description: The DR's internal water resources per capita is 2,430 cubic meters, which is below the average for Central American and the Caribbean region, 6,645. Current water demand of 10 billion m³ represents 44 percent of total available freshwater resources. According to the World Bank only Barbados, the DR, Mexico, and Peru exceed 10 percent demand in the Latin America and Caribbean region. Water scarcity is reflected in increasing competition for surface water allocation and unsustainable groundwater abstraction.
  Source: FAO
  (1)Total run off including superficial and groundwater run off.
  (2)Enriquillo Lake's run off is included in the Caribbean watershed total run off
  According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), groundwater has a potential of 1,500 million m³/year, but less than a third of this value is actually being extracted.  Although coastal limestone aquifers contain only about 4 percent of the available groundwater reserves, human activities in the southeast of the country (from Santo Domingo to La Romana and Punta Cana) are heavily dependent on them – for example, some 30 percent of Santo Domingo's water supply comes from underground sources.  As a result, coastal limestone aquifers are overdrafted and seawater intrusion already reaches inland 20 to 50 km from the seashore. Many coastal aquifers are at risk of contamination from agrochemicals and poorly located solid waste disposal, contributing to water scarcity by making resources unavailable.
caption: Rio Chavon in the Eastern DR near La Romana Province
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