Assignment: Panama’s water fights

The Documentary Podcast

Panama is one of the wettest countries in the world. It also has a world famous shipping canal which earns it billions of dollars a year. With big money and high rainfall combined, it should be straightforward to meet the water needs of its four million plus people.

But hundreds of thousands of Panamanians don’t have access to piped water. With a growing population and a drought, last year the Canal Authority reduced the number of ships passing through by a third, losing it and the country hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue.

The Authority says this was done to protect drinking water for the 2.5 million people who rely on the same water supply the Canal uses to work its massive locks. With uncertainty over the impact of climate change, Panamanians are asking whether there’ll be enough fresh water to satisfy the enormous demand from the canal’s locks with the basic need to have regular access to clean water.

Jane Chambers travels to Panama to meet the people involved in the struggles for access to water.