Article by CentralAmericaData.com with insights from Prensa Libre.

Real estate projects in Costa Rica face a tough time expanding due to lack of drinking water in several areas of the country.

Projects developed in cantons such as Escazu or Santa Ana are being affected by this problem, where local permits for the expansion of properties are held in limbo.

“In Guayabo there was interest in the possibility of doing some kind of social project for the people of that Canton, but we’ve run into the problem of lack of water and the value of the land which is creating a problem with the housing issue,” said the Mayor of Mora, Gilberto Monge.

Another example of water shortages is in Perez Zeledon, where at the moment building permits are frozen. According to the mayor, Vera Corrales, the efforts being made center around buying land where springs are located which provide the lifeblood for various wells which supply most of the districts that are not yet suffering from a critical water shortage.

According to the director of the National Union of Local Governments (UNGL), Leonardo Campos, “municipalities are interested in this, there are some that are more able than others to carry out this task in order to grow, some have more resources than others, but in many cases the political will and the will of those territories in having orderly growth is at odds with institutions who are not aligned with that goal.”

He said the water problem threatens the development of the cantons therefore the problem should be studied in the context of land use in order to direct efforts towards productive growth and housing in these places.

The Costa Rica Star recently published an article about an irrigation project coming to Guanacaste that will provide water to 350,000 homes.