A controversial aqueduct that would take water from a neighboring community to feed booming tourism growth in Costa Rica's northwestern province of Guanacaste has been suspended by the local government, citing concerns over water supply.

The $8 million project would pipe water from the sleepy village of Sardinal to Playas del Coco and Ocotal, two beach towns nine miles away in the canton of Carrillo.

The project is being funded and carried out through a trust fund set up by developers from the region, with the oversight of the National Institute of Water and Sewers (AyA). Once built, the aqueduct would be handed over to AyA.

The project set off protests in Sardinal – some violent – and organizers from the community have said their rights are being trampled, and their water stolen for private gain.

On Tuesday, the Carrillo Municipal Council voted to suspend the project.

“This is because we are not sure of the capacity of Sardinal's aquifer,” said Carrillo Municipal President Franklin Rivas. “We do not have serious or recent studies that tell us what amount of water we have in the aquifer.”

Rivas said AyA presented a study of the aquifer to the municipality, but said it was completed in January, when the project was nearly three-quarters finished.

Documents released by the AyA and other agencies in response to a lawsuit show that internal audits questioned a lack of permits and oversight for the project.

Lisbeth Quesada, the nation's ombudswoman – who is appointed by the Legislative Assembly to act as a liaison between the people and the government and whose title in Spanish translates literally as “Defender of the Inhabitants” –strongly opposes the aqueduct, asking AyA to suspend it until doubts are cleared up.

Yesterday, AyA Director Ricardo Sancho announced the agency will be investing more than $1 million in the local aqueduct that serves Sardinal and speeding up the work there, which he said has been planned for years. In addition, he said, the local aqueduct will also be connected to the Playas del Coco-Ocotal aqueduct, feeding additional water to the community.

Sancho said he will also visit Sardinal today to meet with leaders from the community in order assuage their concerns. The AyA director insisted the pipeline project is sustainable and transparent, and uses only 10 percent of the water available in the aquifer.