The director of the Inter-Municipal Water Supply and Sewerage Services System (SIAPA), Carlos Enrique Torres Lugo, during the presentation of Enrique Alfaro's report on the strategy to revitalize the Santiago River, addressed the financial challenges facing the organization, emphasizing the problem of overdue accounts and the probable increase in water rates, conditional on the approval of the Jalisco Congress.
Currently, SIAPA has overdue accounts amounting to more than 14 billion pesos, of which 7 billion are considered uncollectible, as explained by Torres Lugo. The director highlighted the magnitude of this debt, noting that a significant portion of this amount is already time-barred, resulting in a complicated financial situation for the entity.
Torres Lugo indicated that last year's pandemic prevented SIAPA from implementing a program to recover debts, as at that time health and access to water for COVID-19 preventive measures were prioritized. Regarding the proposed rate adjustment, the director emphasized that both the organization and the users play a fundamental role in improving the service.
The 2% increase in the water rate proposed by SIAPA aims to cover maintenance costs and enhance the infrastructure for service delivery. However, the implementation of this measure is subject to legislative authorization, which poses a new challenge for the entity in terms of financial and operational stability.
