Background

Tucked into the Andes foothills, Quito, the Ecuadorian capital is over 9,000 feet above sea level, and has a population of nearly two million people. The city has a relatively robust and advanced water infrastructure system.

Quito receives over 97% of its water from surface water sources. Dispersed throughout the city, Quito has 4 water catchment systems: Integrated Papallacta System, La Mica- Quito South, Western Pipelines System, and the Oriental Pipelines System. Quito has four main catchment sites for surface water that are treated throughout the city’s 39 drinking water treatment plants. There are a total of 436 distribution tanks dispersed in the city and rural parishes that supply water for the Metropolitan District of Quito. Treatment plants, wells, and springs supply the drinking water distribution system. 

Empresa Publica Metropolitana de Agua Potable y Saneamiento (EPMAPS) is a public utility in Quito that owns and operates both the water and wastewater infrastructure in the metropolitan district of Quito.Ecuadorian law requires municipal governments to keep drinking “water tariffs social and affordable for everyone” which prevents authorities from simply increasing rates. EPMAPS has been relatively successful in their mission of providing clean water and sanitation services to the city’s residents; the city has one of the highest rates of quality drinking water coverage in Latin America at 98.4% within urban areas and 94.86% in rural areas, and approximately 93% of the city’s wastewater is treated. 

Challenges

Quito faces three main challenges to its ability to continue delivering quality water management services: 1) a growing population, mostly concentrated in sprawling and informal rural communities, 2) risks associated with climate change, and 3) a challenging topography that makes engineering complete service difficult.

Challenge 1: A growing population and urban sprawl

Since the 1970s, Quito has experienced scattered and unplanned growth surrounding the urban parishes. As  a result of unregulated growth and sprawl along the mountainside of Quito’s geography, approximately 180,000 people have been living in informal communities since 2014. Informal settlements in rural communities are spreading increasingly far from the city and its capacity to deliver water services. Approximately 60% of construction in the DMQ (Distrito Metropolitano de Quito/Metropolitan District of Quito) is informal, according to several statements from municipal technicians, the vast extent of Quito’s boundaries and lack of enforcement pose a challenge to controlling sprawl in risky territory.

Quito subsidizes tariffs for rural and poor communities; however, only if settlements are legalized. EPMAPS offers subsidies to 24 rural parishes in the DMQ. A 50% tariff discount is applied to the first 30 cubic meters of water consumed at a rate of .15/m3 and the remaining are billed at .43/m3, which is significantly lower than the .72/m3 paid by the urban domestic sector in this rank (source). The development of rural communities poses a dilemma for Quito’s water management to manage sprawl and ensure all Quito’s residents have access to clean, safe drinking water.        

The issues associated with Quito’s sprawl and its ability to meet its water infrastructure needs are only further exacerbated by it’s rapid urbanization in the most recent decades. As of 2016, nearly 64% of Quito’s population lives within the urban areas and the rest of the city is urbanizing at a rate of 1.9%. Between 2010 and 2020, the population was expected to rise by 25% from 2.24 to 2.78 million. At this growth rate, the population could possibly double to 5 million by 2050. More recently, Quito has experienced an influx of Venezuelan migrants, most likely forming communities in informal housing and settlements in the hillside of Quito’s topography that are vulnerable to water access issues and hazards. Between 2015 and 2020, around 400,000 Venezuelans settled in Ecuador. Alongside Quito’s rapidly growing population, the water demand will surpass water production without intervention to expand drinking water treatment sites, increasing sources of water, and reducing consumption. EPMAPS is already beginning to address these issues by including the intention to increase the production of potable water in its master water plan through the year 2040.

Challenge 2: Climate change

Climate change is one of the largest threats to life and infrastructure in almost all cities around the world, especially in the global south. Quito is not exempt from this and faces a number of pressing climate change challenges including forest fires, rain storms, flash/surface flood, and landslides, which all pose a threat to future water supply and provision of potable drinking water. Increased temperatures and decreased precipitation can also potentially increase water strain in the region. The ecosystem that supplies water to Quito, Paramo, is protected under the Fund for the Protection of Water (FONAG) but is expected to see a reduction in its ability to stock water under climate change. Additionally, increasingly frequent forest fires within the ecosystem will contribute to deforestation and erosion of natural habitat necessary to protect the fresh water supply. Lastly, because of an incomplete wastewater treatment system,  increased rain storms and flooding will exacerbate point-source pollutants damage to environmental water quality. The city is currently addressing the lack of wastewater treatment capacity through its 2020-2040 water management plan.

Challenge 3: A challenging topography

Quito sits over 9,000 feet above sea level in the middle of a mountain range. While the city center is hilly, its topography is much more forgiving than the communities on the outskirts of the Metropolitan District of Quito. Many of the rural parishes live in steep mountainous areas that make the installation of water and sewage infrastructure, especially a connection to the centralized system, extremely expensive and challenging. While some of these communities have been connected by EPMAPS, many remain out of reach and/or not economically feasible to connect.

In order to effectively respond to Quito’s main water management challenges it is imperative to understand the intersections of climate change, rapid urbanization, political pressure, and rural settlements within the context of the region. Each challenge overlaps the other, such as rapid urbanization and climate change, to create the future conditions of Quito and how the city will adapt and continue to deliver quality water services to all residents in the future. Comprehensive and coordinated planning efforts at different municipal levels will allow Quito to be more resilient towards future water management challenges.

Solutions

While many solutions exist to the challenges presented, the implementation of a decentralized water network, with a focus on the rural parishes and informal settlements that are currently not served by EPMAPS, presents the most benefits that address all three identified challenges.

Decentralized water networks utilize multiple sites of water supply and wastewater treatment, often closer to the source of supply, demand, or both, instead of relying on a costly and expansive distribution network. Decentralized water networks often are particularly effective in smaller, isolated, or low-income areas that are more difficult to include in traditional service networks, making a decentralized system ideal for addressing the challenges outlined above. Additionally, a decentralized water network allows for a more diverse water portfolio, building in redundancies and decoupling of systems, that make water treatment and delivery more resilient in the face of disasters, shocks, and uncertainties associated with climate change. 

A decentralized water network can be a catalyst for encouraging citizen participation and empowering disengaged communities. As a result of rapid and unplanned urbanization in the DMQ, a fragmented social fabric, and low citizen participation create a challenge for effective land management. Citizens and local leaders are given more agency and responsibility through the proper infrastructure and management to make decisions within a decentralized water network. 

Decentralized water infrastructure has been used successfully before in the developing world to address many of the same issues Quito faces, especially in informal settlements. A very successful case study of decentralized water in informal settlements can be found in the eThekwini district of Durban, South Africa. In order to improve sanitary conditions and provide clean drinking water to all its residents, the city government established a series of ablution blocks that provided fresh drinking water, toilets, and showers, in addition to the implementation of at-home water-free toilets (i.e. urine divergent toilets), and water tanks with faucets. The program was widely successful and has been recognized internationally. 

Ecuador has developed the necessary regulatory frameworks and strategies for a National Decentralized System of Participation through the “Plan para el Buen Vivir” – outlining tools for public participation. The Participation Governance System (PGS) of Quito was established through the 21st Century Quito Development Strategy Plan. Through PGS, citizens are granted the rights to actively and inclusively participate in programs, projects, and oversee public resources. The plan encourages the use and cooperative management of land within communities located in Quito’s hillside. Through various public participation tools and projects, managing Quito’s growth in risky areas is achieved through a decentralized territorial control approach. 

A similar, decentralized governance model is already utilized in managing water supply in certain sectors where EPMAPS is unable to service through 118 community water councils across the DMQ. 111 of the 118 water councils “Juntas Administradoras de Agua Potable” (JAAP) are located throughout the rural parishes. JAAPs are groups of people who are responsible for the management of a drinking water system. The rights and responsibilities of the JAAP are outlined in the “Law and Regulation of Community Water and Sewage Councils” document. The general assembly is composed of the drinking water system’s users. 

Our first recommendation towards developing decentralized water management and infrastructure in Quito’s rural communities is to strengthen EPMAPS relationship with the 118 community water councils. A strengthened relationship can be achieved through the provision of technical support, capacity building, and financial incentives to promote growth and sustainability of decentralized networks in rural communities. Supporting the long-term sustainability of community water councils will ensure Quito maintains its high drinking water coverage for all residents while alleviating the increasing pressure on EPMAPS current, limited water infrastructure. 

Implementing the appropriate selection of diverse decentralized water technologies such as ablution blocks, small treatment facilities, rainwater cisterns, and urine diverting toilets will depend on the distinct community conditions. Our second recommendation is to assess the appropriate and effective decentralized water infrastructure through a decision making matrix in coordination with community water councils.

There is a dearth of knowledge and data gaps of water infrastructure within the DMQ, especially in rural parishes. The assessment conducted through the decision making matrix will fill in the existing gaps and implement the selection of decentralized technologies that are specific to a community’s needs. 

As part of the proposed decentralized water network, several water treatment and wastewater treatment technologies could be utilized to address site specific water infrastructure needs. The appropriate choice of which technology to utilize would be determined by the decision making matrix presented above. The following technologies should be considered:

Ablution blocks: Ablution blocks were successfully used in Durban, South Africa to provide water and sanitation facilities in informal settlements. The use of ablution blocks in Quito would be best suited where pipe infrastructure is not possible or cost-effective and there is enough of a centralized water source for the block to function.

Groundwater wells and small treatment facilities: The large majority of Quito’s water is surface water sourced, however the groundwater table is available for use and EPMAPS is looking to utilize groundwater sources to promote diversity in the water portfolio and prevent flooding of basements through infiltration where the water table is too high. Small scale treatment and distribution plants could be established where a clean and large enough groundwater drinking supply is available.

Decentralized/localized wastewater treatment: Where a household piping network is available and a relatively high population density exists, community level small wastewater treatment plants offer strong potential for treating sewage.

Rainwater harvesting: Rainwater harvesting should be considered in areas with high amounts of precipitation. Cisterns adjacent to homes and businesses collect rainwater for grey water usage or drinking after treatment.

Compost toilets and urine diverting toilets: Where a central sewage network or ablution blocks are not possible, compost toilets and urine diverting toilets should be utilized. These interventions will likely be best suited for rural areas and allow for the sanitary disposal of waste without the use of water.

Conclusion

While no single solution will cure all of Quito’s water infrastructure challenges, the implementation of a diverse decentralized water infrastructure network, implemented using a needs-oriented decision making process, will greatly assist EPMAPS in addressing some of Quito’s most pressing water-related needs and issues.