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Granma reports seven UNICEF-donated pumps for Manzanillo's water supply

The United Nations Children's Fund donated seven pumping units to the water system of Manzanillo, in Granma province, whose lower zone has been out of service for about three months because of breakdowns; the official cited by the state newspaper warns residents will see no immediate benefit.

The water supply situation in Manzanillo, with the lower zone out of service for roughly three months because of equipment breakdowns, can be gradually reversed with the donation of seven pumping units from UNICEF, Granma reported. The batch includes two units of 98 litres per second and 120 to 125 metres of head for the upper zone, and five of 40 litres per second and 80 metres of head for the lower zone.

The technical director of the water utility in Granma, Andis Castellanos Castillo, said the donation will raise the flow in both zones and benefit between 100,000 and 115,000 residents of the municipal seat who are supplied through the network. In the upper zone the flow will grow by about 200 litres per second, added to the roughly 100 litres per second supplied by the four units already running, reaching some 300 litres per second; in the lower zone, the five new units will inject another 200 litres per second.

So far four units have been installed and work is under way on two more, with the aim of finishing this week. The same official warned that even with all seven in place residents will not see benefits immediately: specialists must measure well levels and electrical parameters before start-up, and staffing must be secured for the pumping station, located 33 kilometres from the municipal seat.

The well field supplying the city is at Cayo Redondo, some 33 kilometres away, and has 17 wells: 10 for the lower zone and 7 for the upper zone. In the lower zone the water needs two repumping stages to arrive, so the units must operate as an integrated system and, according to the official, "no well can be treated as independent." The donation also includes protection against voltage surges, which the engineer described as critical in exposed electrical systems.

Castellanos Castillo recalled that UNICEF has also donated to the province inflatable tanks for communities hit by Hurricane Melissa, filters and small mobile water treatment plants, and five photovoltaic systems for Pilón. He added that two or three years ago the city's two main pipelines were rehabilitated, replacing steel and iron with high-density polyethylene, and that about a year ago the Cayo Redondo repumping station was repaired.

Sources: Granma

Data updated: 2026-11-07T16:15:00.000Z

Granma reports seven UNICEF-donated pumps for Manzanillo's water supply | Yamacoa Observatory