---
title: "Panama North Water Ring Completed, Bringing Potable Water to More Than 200,000 Residents"
date: 2026-05-14
author: ""
url: https://panamadaily.news/anillo-hidraulico-norte-completed-panama/
categories:
  - "Economy"
  - "News"
tags:
  - "Anillo Hidráulico Norte"
  - "Conades"
  - "IDAAN"
  - "Panamá Norte"
  - "potable water"
  - "water infrastructure"
---

# Panama North Water Ring Completed, Bringing Potable Water to More Than 200,000 Residents

## What Happened

Panama’s government has completed and delivered the Anillo Hidráulico Norte, a major water infrastructure project designed to improve potable water service for communities in Panama Norte. President José Raúl Mulino presided over the handover of the project’s final components, marking the completion of a system made up of 12 separate works.

The project is intended to guarantee continuous access to drinking water for families that for decades faced service interruptions and dependence on tanker trucks. According to officials, the completed system now benefits more than 200,000 people across the northern area of the capital district.

## Key Works Added to the System

The final phase included the communities of Guarumal, Mocambo Arriba and Villa Cárdenas. Together, these works add storage, transport and distribution capacity for about 7,500 residents in those areas.

In Guarumal, the project included 5.1 kilometers of distribution network and 700 meters of pumping line from the Caimitillo pumping station. The Caimitillo station was also rehabilitated with new electromechanical equipment and control systems. Two old tanks of 10,000 and 15,000 gallons were replaced by two new tanks of 30,000 gallons each, improving storage capacity for about 5,100 people.

Mocambo Arriba received 3.8 kilometers of distribution network and a 115,000-gallon vitrified steel tank. That component serves more than 1,400 residents and is linked to Cerro Peñón through a 1.3-kilometer, 4-inch pumping line. Cerro Peñón is connected to the La Cabima potable water pumping station, both of which were inaugurated and transferred to IDAAN on November 1, 2024.

Villa Cárdenas also received 5.4 kilometers of distribution network, along with a 115,000-gallon vitrified steel tank and a dedicated pumping station. Its electrical supply runs through a three-phase circuit connected to Kuna Nega, with an aerial crossing over the Corredor Norte. This work benefits more than 1,400 people.

## Community Impact

The delivery was presented as a long-awaited response to a basic need in Panama Norte, where residents had lived with uneven water service for years. The new hydraulic ring is designed to support better storage, conduction and distribution, helping the area serve a growing population more reliably.

During the event in Caimitillo, a new storage tank was unveiled and named after Emilia Sáez, a community activist remembered for her years of advocacy for water access in the area. Her family attended the ceremony and emphasized the significance of the project to the community’s history.

Officials from the Presidency, the Ministry of the Presidency, IDAAN and Conades attended the handover. Authorities described the project as part of a broader effort to modernize potable water systems and improve efficiency in service delivery across the country.

## Why It Matters

Water infrastructure remains one of the country’s most visible public service challenges, especially in fast-growing urban and peri-urban areas. Projects like the Anillo Hidráulico Norte aim to reduce reliance on emergency deliveries and strengthen the capacity of the public system to meet daily demand.

For residents of Panama Norte, the completed ring represents more than a technical upgrade. It is a sign that long-promised water works are finally reaching neighborhoods that had waited years for stable service.