Pilot Water and Sanitation Program in Scattered Rural Communities in Guatemala

The objective of this pilot program is to design and implement intervention models to provide water and sanitation services in hard-to-reach rural communities in the municipality of Santa Lucia Utatlán, including both collective and individual solutions. The project will be able to be replicated in other parts of the country and will facilitate the development of national public policy guidelines. Guatemala, with a population of 17.7 million inhabitants in 2019, presents a national coverage of drinking water and sanitation services below the Latin American average. The coverage of the drinking water service in Guatemala amounts to 87.32% of the population (95.04% for urban areas, and 79.38% for rural areas). Similarly, only 61% of the population (65.61% urban and 57.78% rural) has access to a continuous service (24/7). Regarding the quality of the supplied water, only 55.9% of the population has access to a safe drinking water service (65.61% urban and 46.11% rural); 38% of the population has a basic drinking water service (32.31% urban and 44.25% rural). Almost a million people -mainly located in rural areas- are drinking water from unsafe sources, with a third of them drinking directly from surface waters. Regarding sanitation services, at a national level only 65.06% of the population has access to basic sanitation service (79% urban and 50.51% rural); 11.67% has limited service (12.17% urban and 11.17% rural); 18.58% (more than 3 million inhabitants) has access to unsafe services (7.6% urban and 29.86% rural); and 4.6% of the population practices open air defecation, the majority being located in rural areas, and especially in indigenous areas. Only 4% of the wastewater that is collected by the system is treated. The rest of the wastewater is discharged, not treated or poorly treated, to streams, rivers, and lakes, causing environmental contamination in at least 95% of water bodies of the country. The situation of water and sanitation services -in terms of coverage, quality of service and type of infrastructure- is more critical in rural and indigenous areas. It should be noted that the information collected for the rural areas in the country generally refers to concentrated rural communities, with populations between 500 to 2,500 inhabitants. These communities have access to public services and communication facilities located in the urban centers of their territories, and the Guatemalan government has developed initiatives to provide them with drinking water and sanitation services, through the Municipal Development Institute (INFOM) and other institutions. With regard to rural communities with difficult access, the country does not have a clear definition of their concept in terms of population and other required criteria, nor specific sector data on the situation of public services; however, several studies carried out at the Latin American level indicate that the levels of coverage and quality of service (availability, accessibility and quality) are lower than those in concentrated rural communities.

Project Detail

Country

Guatemala

Project Number

GU-G1009

Approval Date

December 9, 2020

Project Status

Implementation

Project Type

Investment Grants

Sector

WATER AND SANITATION

Subsector

WATER SUPPLY RURAL AND PERI-URBAN

Lending Instrument

Lending Instrument Code

Modality

Facility Type

Environmental and Social Impact Category (ESIC)

Category B: Likely to cause mostly local and short-term negative environmental and associated social impacts and for which effective mitigation measures are readily available

Total Cost

USD 1,143,730.00

Country Counterpart Financing

USD 443,730.00

Original Amount Approved

USD 700,000.00

Financial Information

Operation Number	Lending Type	Reporting Currency	Reporting Date	Signed Date	Fund	Financial Instrument
GRT/MA-18456-GU	Sovereign Guaranteed	USD - United States Dollar	Oct. 30, 2025	Jan. 5, 2021	Multidonor AquaFund	Grant

Operation Number

GRT/MA-18456-GU

Lending Type: Sovereign Guaranteed
Reporting Currency: USD - United States Dollar
Reporting Date: Oct. 30, 2025
Signed Date: Jan. 5, 2021
Fund: Multidonor AquaFund
Financial Instrument: Grant

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Implementation Phase

https://www.iadb.org/document.cfm?id=EZIDB0000269-1240851912-488

Annual Project Audited Financial Statement

Informe EFA - 18456-GU 2023-2025 firmado p1.pdf

Sep. 12, 2025

Spanish

https://www.iadb.org/document.cfm?id=EZIDB0000269-1240851912-229

Annual Project Audited Financial Statement

GRT-MA-18456-GU EFA al 5abr23 Informe EFA.pdf

Aug. 07, 2023

English

https://www.iadb.org/document.cfm?id=EZSHARE-2056220512-8560

Loan Contract

Convenio - Programa Piloto de Agua Potable y Saneamiento en Comunidades Rurales Dispersas en Guatemala.pdf

Jul. 07, 2021

Spanish

https://www.iadb.org/document.cfm?id=EZSHARE-1234940921-42

TC Document

Documento de CT - Divulgación.pdf

Dec. 14, 2020

Spanish