Water Supply and Sanitation in Honduras - History of The Sector

History of The Sector

In 1998 the country was devastated by Hurricane Mitch, destroying many rural water supply systems. Subsequently, the external assistance provided to Honduras increased substantially to assist in the reconstruction effort.

In 2003 the National Assembly approved the Water Framework Law, according to which SANAA will have to transfer its service provision functions to the concerned municipalities until 2008 and transform itself into an agency providing technical assistance to municipalities and Juntas. The new sector structure foreseen by the law is still in process of being established, with the new institutions still being weak and new institutions still adapting to their new roles.

In 2006 the government issued a Strategic Plan for the Modernization of the water sector to strengthen the decentralization of services. In 2012 the government announced that the responsibility for water supply and sanitation in Tegucigalpa would be handed over from SANAA to a municipal company to be called Aguas de San Miguel. A civil society group called Citizens' Front for Water (FCA) would participate in the management of the company.