The municipal water utility in La Paz has finished emergency repairs on a collapsed sewer line on Calle Rosales in the city’s downtown core. OOMSAPAS (Organismo Operador Municipal del Sistema de Agua Potable, Alcantarillado y Saneamiento) replaced 60 meters of deteriorated concrete pipe between Calle Madero and Calle Revolución, just blocks from the malecón waterfront.
OOMSAPAS Director General Abimael Ibarra Abúndez said the existing line was made of old concrete and had suffered severe damage from age, sinking, and rupture. The collapse triggered the emergency intervention on one of downtown La Paz’s busier streets.
Heavy Equipment Deployed for Downtown Dig
Crews used excavators and hydraulic hammers to break through the thick road surface along Calle Rosales. Workers installed new 8-inch sanitary tubing to replace the failed concrete line. During the operation, the utility diverted wastewater flows to prevent raw sewage from spilling toward the malecón, a popular walking and dining corridor for residents and visitors alike.
The street is now functionally open to traffic, but drivers should expect some surface disruption. The final phase of the project, repaving with hydraulic concrete, is still pending. Ibarra Abúndez thanked neighbors and motorists for their patience during the work.
Part of a Broader Infrastructure Push
The repair falls under a broader effort by Mayor Milena Quiroga Romero’s administration to address La Paz’s aging sanitary network. Much of the city’s sewer infrastructure dates back decades, and concrete pipe failures have become a recurring problem in the downtown area. Calle Rosales runs through a high-traffic zone close to the waterfront, making the collapse a public health concern as well as a traffic headache.
La Paz’s downtown streets sit on older utility grids that were not designed for current demand. Concrete sewer lines, once standard, are particularly prone to collapse as they age and the soil beneath them shifts. The city has been replacing failed sections with modern PVC and plastic tubing on a case-by-case basis as breaks occur.
This story was first reported by the La Paz municipal government news portal, noticias.lapaz.gob.mx.