page_title: Water supply and sanitation in the Dominican Republic
section_title: Gradual establishment of regional water and sewer companies (1973-1998)
hierarchical_section_title: Water supply and sanitation in the Dominican Republic / History and recent developments / Gradual establishment of regional water and sewer companies (1973-1998)
caption_attribution_description: Picture taken from the Monument of Santiago.
context_page_description: The Dominican Republic has achieved impressive increases in access to water supply and sanitation over the past two decades. However, the quality of water supply and sanitation services remains poor, despite the country's high economic growth during the 1990s.
context_section_description: In 1973, under the second Presidency of Joaquín Balaguer (1966–1978), CAASD was set up in the capital Santo Domingo as the first regional water and sewer company. This was followed by the creation of CORAASAN in the second largest city of the country, Santiago, in 1977. The regionalization process then stalled for two decades. But at the request of Congressmen representing their respective constituencies, the process of regionalization resumed and in 1997-98 laws were passed creating three additional regional water and sewer companies in Puerto Plata, Moca and Romana. At the same time, INAPA embarked on its own decentralization programme, handing over the operation of rural water supply systems to community-based organizations. These efforts were supported by technical assistance from USAID (see below).
  The 1990s under the third Presidency of Joaquín Balaguer (1986–1996) and the first Presidency of Leonel Fernández (1996–2000) witnessed substantial investments in water and sanitation and an important increase in coverage. For example, access to house connections in rural areas increased from 35% in 1990 to 62% in 2004. Access to sewer connections in urban areas increased from 47% in 1990 to 65% in 2004. These increases are among the highest in Latin America and the Caribbean during that period.
caption: Santiago, the second city of the Dominican Republic.
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