Panama Wastewater Treatment Has Failed at 1,200 Sites, the Minister Says
Environment Minister Maximino Navarro says 1,200 wastewater treatment plants have collapsed. The count comes from MiAmbiente, with 24 priority sites upstream of drinking water intakes. The post Panama Wastewater Treatment Has Failed at 1,200 Sites, the Minister Says appeared first on The Rio Times .
Panama's environment minister, Maximino Navarro, revealed on 18 August 2026 that the country has failed to maintain wastewater treatment at 1,200 sites across the nation. Speaking to the National Assembly budget committee about the ministry's 2027 budget proposal, Navarro highlighted a widespread sanitation infrastructure problem.
These collapsed wastewater treatment plants and septic systems are either abandoned, structurally failing, or discharging untreated sewage into rivers and seas. The ministry's directorate for verifying environmental performance identified 24 priority sites upstream of drinking water intakes, as these are at risk of contaminating water supplies.
The ministry, MiAmbiente, is working with the national water utility, IDAAN, on addressing the priority sites, though no repair plan has been announced yet.
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